The United States is looking at stronger economic cooperation with the Philippines in key economic areas such as clean energy and supply chains, according to Heather Variava, US Embassy charge d’affaires.
At a recent virtual economic forum organized by the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. recently, Variava said the Philippines’ has an abundant natural resources including solar, wind and geothermal.
.. “good policy combined with ingenuity can make the transition away from fossil fuels possible,” Variava said.
In the same event, NuScale Power director of sales Cheryl Collins said to prepare and sustain its economic growth, the Philippines will require a sustainable source of energy that includes renewables and nuclear as it transitions away from fossil fuels towards a more climate-friendly economic environment.
Collins discussed “groundbreaking technology” in designing fully factory fabricated small modular reactors (SMRs) — which are nuclear fission reactors that are smaller than conventional nuclear reactors and thus have greater scalability. SMRs can be built in a factory and transported to a site for installation.
Nuclear energy has one of the lowest carbon footprints, produces no harmful emissions during operation, and all wastes are accounted for and managed during the entire life cycle of the plant and incorporated into the cost, Collins said.
NuScale’s operational flexibility can enable more renewables on the grid and help decarbonize industrial and transportation sectors — making the transition to a clean energy system faster. – Irma Isip
