Philippines: Foreign firms express interest to operate Bataan nuclear plant

Philippines: Foreign firms express interest to operate Bataan nuclear plant

The Philippines is getting offers from foreign groups to operate the Bataan
Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), including a Chinese firm that is ready to assess
the mothballed facility, Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said.

Cusi declined to name the Chinese company, but said there are already
discussions with Beijing on the matter.

Cusi said the "Chinese company engaged in nuclear" wants to "assess" the
country's potential to produce nuclear power. In particular, it cited the
31-year-old BNPP. "In fact, they are interested even to operate [BNPP],"
Cusi added.

The energy chief said this is the kind of offer that he wants to receive
from other countries.

"I'm looking at other countries to do it, operate it. Instead of giving us
grant, this is what they should do. I already talked to the Chinese
ambassador to have it assessed," said Cusi, adding that "other countries are
also interested".

The 620-megawatt (MW) BNPP is the country's first and only attempt at
nuclear-power development. It was supposed to be the
first of two nuclear plants to be built in the northern province of Bataan.
It was also the first nuclear power plant in Southeast Asia, and was
identified as a solution to the 1973 oil crisis that had adversely affected
the global economy, including that of the Philippines.

The project, however, was mothballed in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster
in 1986. But clamor for the reopening of the BNPP was revived during the
power crisis in the 1990s, as well as when oil prices were skyrocketing in
2007.

During these periods, Cusi said, the Department of Energy (DOE) actually
came close to reconsidering nuclear power as a potential energy source for
the country. But then, the Fukushima nuclear-plant incident happened in
2011, creating global panic and concerns about the safety and integrity of
nuclear plants.

During the recently concluded Sevnth Annual Meeting of the Nuclear Energy
Cooperation Subsector Network, a prefeasibility study unveiled that many
Asean member-countries are in favor of tapping nuclear energy for peaceful
or commercial use. The three-day summit was hosted by the Philippines, with
the DOE as the lead agency.

Nuclear energy is being seen by Asean members as a long-term source of
power, according to the study conducted by the Asean Center for Energy and
Asean-Canada Nuclear and Radiological Program.

Energy Undersecretary Jess Posadas underscored the need for regional and
international cooperation to advance the use of civilian nuclear energy in
the Asean region.

"The meeting was timely, as it afforded the Philippines insights while it
tries to develop and formulate its national position on nuclear energy,"
Posadas said.

Posadas added that the Philippines will need a kind of energy that will
power the economic development resulting from the P8.9 trillion worth of
investments in infrastructure in the next five years.

Nuclear power has the potential of meeting such huge energy demand,
according to Posadas, as he noted that 1 gram of uranium is equivalent to
1.8 million cubic meters of oil and 3 million grams of coal. "Nuclear energy
would last longer than other fuels," Posadas said.

"The Philippines has always viewed nuclear energy as a long-term option for
power generation that will provide supply security, stability and
reliability. Should this be the path that the country will take, nuclear
further diversifies our existing generation mix comprised of coal, natural
gas, geothermal, hydropower, oil, wind, biomass and solar," he said.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/foreign-firms-express-interest-to-operate-b
ataan-nuclear-plant/

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com