INVESTORS are still keen on developing nuclear energy projects in the Philippines, the Department of Energy (DoE) said, as the government prepares to start accepting applications next year.
Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said there is significant investor interest in nuclear energy projects in the Philippines, as some companies have already presented their ideas.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Ms. Garin said companies want to go into nuclear energy as they see it as a possible solution to serve baseload capacity and to cater to the increasing demand from data centers.
“They’re very interested and are waiting for us to finalize the site selection and site evaluation,” she said in mixed Filipino and English.
The DoE plans to begin accepting applications for nuclear energy projects by 2026 as part of efforts to integrate nuclear power into the country’s energy mix by 2032.
Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the country aims to integrate nuclear energy into the power mix with at least 1,200 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2032, increasing it to 2,400 MW by 2045 and to 4,800 MW by 2050.
“I understand, the companies are waiting for us to guide them on which are the areas that are more feasible. But some companies have already approached DoE to enter into a memorandum of agreement, non-exclusive, to explore the possible nuclear power plant development,” Ms. Garin said.
She said some energy firms have expressed interest in nuclear energy development such as power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and power generation firm Aboitiz Power Corp.
In a separate interview, Meralco Executive Vice-President Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said that the company waiting to see the ongoing development of Romania’s first small modular reactor before proceeding on its own.
“There is a requirement from PhilATOM (Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority) that the first-of-its-kind technology must run of at least about two years without any incidents before we can adopt it here in the Philippines. So, we have to go through that two-year requirement,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
In September, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12305, the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act, which created PhilATOM.
PhilATOM is an independent quasi-judicial body tasked with overseeing all nuclear and radiation activities in the country.
Under the law, PhilATOM will hold sole and exclusive jurisdiction over the regulation of nuclear energy and radiation sources in the Philippines, ensuring their peaceful, safe and secure use.
The new body will consolidate regulatory functions from other agencies and serve as the country’s official counterpart to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Ms. Garin said that the DoE is set to meet with IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi this week to discuss ways on how to strengthen the nuclear program in the Philippines.
“IAEA is like our reference in order to make sure that (the deployment of nuclear energy technology) is safe, secure, and with safeguards. So, ang pagpapatayo ng (building of) power plant dito (here), we follow all their guidelines at the minimum,” Ms. Garin said.
Last year, IAEA conducted a Follow-Up Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review Mission to the Philippines, wherein it recognized the country’s progress in most of the recommendations and suggestions from the initial mission in 2018. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
