An ongoing technical workshop discussing various safety issues of nuclear energy should it be utilized in the country, has got the Department of Energy (DOE) all excited about the possibilities of conventional nuclear power plants (NPPs), or small modular reactors (SMR), to address the country’s energy security scenario.
The workshop started on Wednesday and will last until today. It is led by the Nuclear Energy Program-Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC), through its Subcommittee 5.
The DOE, in a statement yesterday, said the technical workshop was envisioned following a coordination meeting with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as well as with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute on the applicable environmental regulations for nuclear projects.
The workshop is vital, the DOE added , in the light of growing interest from potential proponents to pursue either the conventional nuclear power plants (NPPs) or small modular reactors (SMR), and discuss the roles and functions of the national government agencies involved in the regulation of nuclear power plant facilities, including their permitting and licensing requirements.
At present, nuclear power units considered as SMR are those with power output of up to 300 megawatts (MW). These are deemed as plausible for utilization in off-grid areas of the country.
DOE also said that the NEP-IAC aims to finalize the Environmental Impact System scoping checklist for conventional NPPs and SMRs, and to identify the required information and data for the public participation process.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the country is still bent on being capable of accepting nuclear energy project applications starting next year.
“Although there is uncertainty of the availability of the technology, what our target basically is for the Philippines to be ready to accept applications for nuclear projects by 2026,” she told reporters at the sidelines of the Philippine Energy Transition Dialogue 2025 in Makati City on Wednesday.
“That’s the way for it to be calculated, by 2026, apply, process and construct, then it could be on time for 2032, subject to availability already of the SMR technology.”
Garin is also hopeful that the government can finally move forward in deciding what do with the Bataan nuclear power plant by next year, which she expects will be a consensus between all branches of the government.
“We cannot do a project where the local government unit doesn’t want, where the executive doesn’t want or the legislative doesn’t want or the or the legislature doesn’t want,” she said. “ I think we can already decide as we are expecting the results of the feasibility study of South Korea by February next year, so it will be easier by then to decide on what we can do.”
Based on the DOE’s Philippine Energy Plan 2023 to 2050, the government aims for the country to have a nuclear capacity of at least 1,200 MW by 2032, and double it to 2,400 MW by 2035, and escalate it to 4,800 MW by 2050.
At present, the Manila Electric Co. and Aboitiz Power Corp. are among local power companies interested to develop nuclear power projects in the country.
Latest data from the DOE show that as of end-June 2025, the country’s total grid connected installed capacity is at 31,073 MW, the majority of which or 13,006 MW equivalent to 41.9 percent are from coal-fired power plants.
