Philippines considering nuclear energy: Aquino

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines may turn to nuclear energy to solve power shortages in the impoverished nation, President Benigno Aquino said Monday.

“We are studying the possibility of using nuclear energy as a source of power,” Aquino, who took office on June 30, told reporters. “I’m awaiting the Department of Energy secretary’s recommendations.”

He said the technology could come from South Korea, without elaborating.

But he said he was reluctant to rebuild a plant completed a quarter of a century ago under the Marcos regime but never used.

Aquino’s statement came four months after a cousin, House of Representatives member Mark Cojuangco, inspected a turbine generator and other nuclear equipment being auctioned by South Korea.

Cojuangco has also said the government should seriously consider reviving the Bataan nuclear power plant, which was completed in 1984 after eight years of construction by the government of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Built 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Manila at a cost of 2.3 billion dollars, the plant was hounded by controversy and has never produced power.

International inspectors who visited the plant shortly after Marcos was ousted by a “people power” revolt in 1986 declared it substandard and unsafe because it was built near a volcano and earthquake fault lines.

Aquino said on Monday he was not keen on rebuilding the plant, citing safety concerns and saying it would be costly to the cash-strapped government.

“I am really bothered. I have a lot of apprehensions with regards to the Bataan nuclear power plant,” he said.

The Philippines relies mostly on geothermal and hydroelectric dams to produce its power, but a lack of investment in recent years has contributed to energy shortfalls for the fast-growing population of 92 million people.

Drought plus frequent breakdowns of facilities exacerbated the problems this year, leading to rotating blackouts in parts of Manila and deeper energy shortfalls in the less developed south of the country. –Agence France-Presse