Solon doubts PH ability to attain goal of having a nuclear power plant running by 2032

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Pangasinan 2nd District Rep. Mark Cojuangco, chairman of the House committee on nuclear energy, said there is no chance to have a nuclear power plant running by 2032 in the absence of a clear policy on this type of power source.

Cojuangco said the Department of Energy (DOE) has yet to decide on the technology to be used.

“Following what the DOE is doing, we have no chance to have a nuclear plant by 2032. Because they don’t even know what kind of plant they want to buy, right? There are only three that are available immediately. There are the AP-1000 from Westinghouse, the APR-1000 from KHNP (Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power) and the CAN-2E6 from Canada… The others are very expensive,” Cojuangco said in a forum in Quezon City yesterday.

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Even the US, which the Philippines has signed an Agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy with last year, no longer has a reliable nuclear supply chain, he added.

Cojuangco said at present, reliable suppliers for nuclear energy are South Korea, Japan and Canada.

In the same forum, Gayle Certeza, Alpas Pinas lead convener, said the group is advocating for the operation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

“It is our fastest way to become a nuclear country because it is already there. It will take a lot of time to build a (new) plant but we already have it (BNPP),” Certeza said.

At present, BNPP, which is being preserved by the National Power Corp., serves as the platform for information, education and communication program on nuclear power, especially for engineering students.

Alpas Pinas, a non-stock, non-profit organization advocating for clean, cheap and reliable energy, also said additional system costs associated with renewable energy tend to rise disproportionately with increased adoption.

“At least with nuclear, the system costs will be a one-time investment, and there will be no need to create a backup source because the energy source is infinite, making this energy source cheap, that will fuel economic growth,” Certeza said.

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