Is RP heading for a nuclear future?

Like many developing countries, the Philippines is in search of alternative energy supplies to ease its reliance on costly imported oil, gas and coal. A new government plan includes wind, solar, hydro, biomass and nuclear power among potential energy sources for the country.

The Philippine goal, set out in the 2009-2030 Philippine Energy Plan, is to almost double energy output over the next decade to cope with a looming power shortage. To do so will also require construction of a nuclear power plant, with 2,000 megawatts of electricity.

“The Philippine government is seriously considering going nuclear as an alternative energy source,” said Michael Sinocruz, Planning Division head of the Department of Energy (DOE). “It could be one or two nuclear plants. Though using nuclear power raises some serious concerns, one of our priority activities is to conduct a comprehensive study in the economic viability and competitiveness of nuclear power as a long-term energy option for the Philippines.”

At the sidelines of a clean-energy workshop for the media in La Trinidad, Benguet, Sinocruz said a task force has been formed to validate the results of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) feasibility study, to assess the 13 possible sites for a nuclear power plant assuming the BNPP option is abandoned, to develop a public communication plan on nuclear and to fully equip the local scientists and manpower for such a plant.

The time frame for the start of operation of a nuclear power plant in the country is from 2025 to 2030, he added.

Currently, the Philippines relies on natural gas for 33 percent of its electricity, 26 percent from coal with the rest coming from oil, geothermal and hydropower.

“Nuclear power is among the popular options to cut carbon emissions because it emits little or no greenhouse gases. We have an improved technology now on how to best manage and handle nuclear power plant,” he said, stressing that according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it produces only 2 grams to 6 grams of carbon per kilowatt-hour.

Multiple challenges for RP

GOVERNMENT experts said the challenge facing many forms of renewable energy-such as solar, geothermal and wind power-is that these sources cannot substantially be scaled up in time to meet the Philippines’ growing needs, which brings nuclear energy to the forefront as a sustainable energy source for the future.

Currently, power rates in the Philippines are among the highest in Asia. This can largely be attributed to the country’s continued dependenceon imported fossil fuels for much of its power generation.

According to National Power Corp. (NPC) Acting Vice President for Corporate Services Urbano Mendiola, concerns over the availability and cost of electricity in the country have revived the government’s interest in nuclear energy.

“We have to find ways of how to bring down the current price of electricity while simultaneously address the issue of climate change by significantly reducing our greenhouse-gas emissions,” Mendiola told the BUSINESSMIRROR.

Acknowledging that nuclear power provides the best source of low-cost, low-emissions energy to the country, Mendiola, however, cited multiple challenges that need to be addressed as the country joins the nuclear-energy players.

Perhaps the greatest challenge facing nuclear energy production is disposal of the highly radioactive waste. “It could take thousands of years for these materials to fully break down into harmless elements so the challenge is to store them safely,” Mendiola said.

The exploitation of nuclear power poses many other challenges, such as the safety of nuclear power plants, reliable supply of nuclear fuel, and well-equipped scientists and engineers to handle the plant, he said.

“There are still huge obstacles to overcome. That is why we are now seriously increasing our knowledge on this and training our local manpower so that by the time we are ready to fully operate a nuclear plant, these issues [would be] well-addressed,” Mendiola said.

Mendiola said the government is establishing a working group retaining engineering consultants, as well as on how to rebuild local skills in nuclear sciences and engineering. He lamented that NPC originally had 710 nuclear engineers who were trained by Westinghouse and Ebasco Overseas Corp. in the 1980s to run the BNPP, but this has declined to about a hundred, many of whom are due to retire in the next five to 10 years.

The $2.3-billion BNPP was mothballed in 1986 due to safety considerations highlighted after the public clamor that followed the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in Ukraine.

Mendiola also disclosed that the NPC and the DOE are now studying 13 potential sites for the nuclear power plant, considering its ground safety and social issues.

The government has identified these sites as located in Mapalan Point in Morong, Bataan; Port Irene/Matara Point and Rakat Hill in Cagayan; San Juan, Batangas; Padre Burgos, Quezon; Pallicpican in Ternate, Cavite; Talusan Point in Sipalay, Negro Occidental; Baluangan in Cawayan, Negros Oriental; Tagbarungis, Inagauwan in Southwest of Puerto Princesa and Concepcion, Tanabag in Northeast Puerto Princesa;Cansilan Point in Bayawan, Negros Oriental; Piacan Point in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; Cauit Point in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; and General Santos, Sarangani.

Rethink going nuclear

ENVIRONMENTALISTS fiercely oppose the Philippine government’s plan to build and manage a state-of-the-art power plant in the country. They disagree about the role nuclear power might play in addressing global warming.

According to Amalie Obusan, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy Campaigner, environmental groups such as Greenpeace are firm in their position that nuclear energy does not play any role in either ensuring energy security or addressing climate change.

“Nuclear power is a losing proposition for the Filipino people,” Obusan told the BUSINESSMIRROR. “BNPP’s tainted history is already a hard lesson on how the pursuit of nuclear power has been a gargantuan and unjust burden on Filipinos. Even now, with moves for its revival heralding what appears to be aggressive plans for a national nuclear program, nuclear power may become the altar upon which this country will bankrupt itself.”

She explained that the direct costs concerning nuclear power can be summed up as construction costs; operations and maintenance costs (including uranium fuel costs); waste storage costs; and decommissioning costs. A 2004 report by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approximates the cost of decommissioning nuclear reactors to be about $300 million to $450 million.

Historical and more current experiences of countries with existing nuclear programs, according to Obusan, show that nuclear power plant construction has gone consistently overbudget, two to three times higher than what the nuclear industry estimates. In India, the country with the most recent experience of nuclear reactor construction, completion costs for the last 10 reactors have, on average, been 300 percent over budget.

Until recently, most nuclear power facilities worldwide depended heavily on state subsidies and massive loans. The BNPP’s commissioning and the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants will be no different, she said.

“The construction of a new nuclear power plant will most likely come from the national budget, with provisions to raise money via surcharges to consumers, and/or international or domestic loans. Operational costs, the procurement of uranium fuel is also not cost-effective for Filipinos,” Obusan said.

Taking ‘baby steps’

NUCLEAR power is under serious consideration in over 30 countries which do not currently have it, including the Philippines, according to the latest report of the World Nuclear Association (WNA).

In all countries, according to the WNA, governments need to create step-by-step the environment for investment in nuclear power, including professional regulatory regime, policies on nuclear-waste management and decommissioning, and involvement with international nonproliferation and insurance arrangements.

But while environmental groups in the country remain steadfastly opposed to nuclear power as they find nuclear power “unacceptable,” the DOE and NPC said the government’s position on nuclear power in the past few years “has evolved.”

“Clearly, solving the country’s increasing demand for electricity and other sources of energy as well as addressing the global warming issue, we need to have all technologies on the table. Therefore, nuclear energy needs to be considered,” Sinocruz said.

Mendiola, on the other hand, said that as more and more countries are now “actively considering embarking” upon nuclear power programs, the Philippines “must give nuclear a look.”

“We still have a long way to go, long years to study this option. We are like taking baby steps. If other climate-neutral means for producing electricity prove inadequate, then nuclear energy should be considered as a long-term option,” Mendiola said. –Imelda V. Abaño / Correspondent, Businessmirror