The government received an offer from the Chinese government for a possible nuclear energy cooperation, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).
“We recently received an offer for a nuclear energy cooperation from China after the President’s state visit. It is a general nuclear energy cooperation which may involve BNPP (Bataan nuclear power plant), conventional nuclear plant or SMR (small modular reactors),” said Michael Sinocruz, director of the DOE Energy Policy and Planning Bureau, on the sidelines of the Powertrends 2023 International Business Forum in Makati City, yesterday.
Sinocruz said the cooperation may be under a government-to-government deal but that it is still in the early stages, unlike the nuclear energy cooperation with the United States whose coverage and extent of assistance now being discussed.
Last November, the governments of the Philippines and US initiated talks on a civil nuclear cooperation deal which when enforced, will provide the legal basis for American exports of nuclear equipment and material to the Philippines.
The agreement is also seen to support expansions on partnerships on cleaner energy and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Sinocruz said actual development of nuclear energy projects in the country, even SMRs, will still be dependent on how fast the government can address lacking infrastructure requirements.
Nuclear reactors are considered SMR if they can produce a maximum of 300 megawatts (MW) of energy.
“We need to have the legal and regulatory (requirements) in place. Our human resource must also be okay as it is needed to operate and maintain SMRs. The good thing about this (is that the) University of the Philippines is discussing for the possible revival of the nuclear engineering as a course,” Sinocruz added.
Sinocruz also said the DOE is updating its energy planning roadmap to 2050 which will include the impact of nuclear energy in the country’s energy mix in terms of reducing carbon emission and costing, among others.
“There will be several scenarios. We can include BNPP if that can still be rehabilitated or we can build a new one, the conventional, which is about 600 MW and above in capacity, or…. we can tap SMRs,” Sinocruz said.
The DOE s has 13 identified sites for conventional nuclear power plants, including Bataan, and up to 16 sites for SMRs.
