RP plans to start up 600-MW nuclear power plant by 2025

The Philippines plans to start up its first 600-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant by 2025, according to data from the Department of Energy (DOE).

In its latest Philippine Energy Plan (PEP), it was noted that the new nuclear power facility is expected to contribute 0.885 million tonne oil equivalent (MTOE) to the projected energy mix and will reach up to 3.54 MTOE by 2035.

This means that the government has already inputted in its energy plan the power that could be generated from nuclear energy.

The DOE said it expects additional nuclear capacities of 600 MW to be in place by 2027, 2030 and 2034.

With this, the total capacity from nuclear under PEP 1998-2035 is projected to reach 2,400 MW by the end of the planning period.

The PEP said that the Arroyo administration will be pushing for capability building and enhancement on the various aspects of nuclear energy which will specifically involve training of local manpower for the possible introducton of nuclear into the country’s energy system.

The DOE is currently looking at the possibility of re-building local technical capability in nuclear sciences and engineering.

The manpower capability of the National Power Corp., the state-owned power generating firm, in nuclear engineering has declined from an original number of 710 engineers who were trained by Westinghouse and Ebasco Overseas Corp. in the eighties to 106 many of whom are due to retire in the next five to 10 years.

As a long-term solution to meet future power demand, the government is exploring two options for nuclear energy development. 

One option is to rehabilitate the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). If the government decides to rehabilitate BNPP, it plans to seek technical assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which was established as an autonomous organization on July 29, 1957. In 1953, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower envisioned the creation of this international body to control and develop the use of atomic energy, in his “Atoms for Peace” speech before the UN General Assembly.

The Philippine government had spent about $2.1 billion for the construction of the BNPP and is setting aside some P40 million a year for its maintenance up to now.