Government experts back review of nuke energy policy

By BusinessMirror, 16 Aug 2020

The mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant provides a massive background to science journalists’ photo op during their tour of the facility a few years back.

The interest in nuclear power program is in high gear once again with government experts throwing their support for it after Malacañang gave a go signal for an energy mix, including the possible use of nuclear.

This included the possible revival of the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) that was mothballed for almost four decades now.

This renewed interest in nuclear energy came after President Duterte in July signed Executive Order 116 “directing a study for the adoption of a national position on Nuclear Energy Program.”

EO 116 also created the National Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) to do the study.

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PNRI) is throwing its support for the renewed efforts to engage in a nuclear power program as it also pushes for an independent regulatory body through a pending bill in Congress, the institute said in its news release.

DOST-PNRI, the country’s lead agency in atomic research and development, has been advocating for adding nuclear to the current energy mix in order to pave the way for more efficient and less costly power cost.

The DOST-PNRI is a member of the NEP-IAC that is tasked to study the adoption of a national position on nuclear power. It is chaired by the Department of Energy with the DOST as vice chairman.

Among the functions of the NEP-IAC is to review the legal framework and study the viability of nuclear energy.

It also has to recommend steps in the use of nuclear power and the available facilities but not limited to the BNPP.

Nuclear energy as best option

Dr. Carlo Arcilla, DOST-PNRI director, asserts that nuclear energy is the best option for the country’s long-term plans for more affordable power generation, the DOST-PNRI said in its news release.

“Ask anyone who has relatives abroad, and they will tell you the stark difference between their electricity rates and ours,” said Arcilla, who has been strongly advocating for the Philippines to establish its own nuclear power program even before he became the PNRI chief.

“That’s how the Philippines lags behind other countries in terms of power cost,” he added.

“Nuclear is simply the cleanest, cheapest and most efficient means of producing electricity. Nuclear power will especially spare the poorest among the Filipinos who are the ones actually allotting the lion’s share of their income just for electric bills,” Arcilla explained.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) web site says that “nuclear power, along with hydro and wind power, emits the lowest quantity of GHGs [greenhouse gasses] per unit of electricity on a life cycle basis.”

A graph indicated that nuclear energy has near-zero carbon emission.

Increasing electricity rates and occasional power outages only worsen the national mood as the country continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, the institute said.

Solution to climate change

Nuclear energy has the capacity to produce baseload power for a continuous supply of electricity 24/7, according to Arcilla.

Conventional sources, such as coal and natural gas also has similar capacity, but nuclear does not entail the high cost of refueling fossil fuels or the carbon emissions that are the bane of a world ravaged by climate change.

A pencil eraser-sized single pellet of uranium fuel contains as much energy as a ton of coal (907 kilogram), three barrels of oil (149 gallons), or as much as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, Arcilla said.

These advantages of nuclear energy have been acknowledged by the DOST-National Academy of Science and Technology (DOST-NAST), the country’s leading advisory and scientific recognition body, the news release said.

In a statement issued last year, DOST-NAST recommended the use of nuclear power for the country’s energy mix.

It said that “nuclear fuel can be a viable solution to mitigate the effects of climate change.”

DOST-NAST added that nuclear energy serves as an alternative to fossil fuels not only in terms of environmental impact, but also in terms of its economic feasibility.

“[T]he dependence on imported fossil fuels makes the country vulnerable to world energy price volatility. By comparison, the cost of generating nuclear energy is less sensitive to nuclear fuel price due to the larger component contributed by its capital cost,” DOST-NAST said.

Regulatory body for nuclear tech

Besides advocating nuclear science and technology, the DOST-PNRI has been pushing for the enactment of the Comprehensive Atomic Regulatory Act in order to create an independent nuclear regulatory body in the Philippines, the news release said.

A separate agency that will handle the regulation of all activities and facilities involving sources of ionizing radiation is being required by international standards.

“While we are waiting for a law creating an independent body, RA [Republic Act] 5207 is still a basis for pursuing nuclear power as it was when the [BNPP] was being licensed in the 1970s and 80s,” said Dr. Carlito Aleta, former DOST-PNRI director and DOST Balik Scientist specializing on nuclear engineering, and consultant of the IAEA.

“Let’s hope a new bill will be passed by Congress creating a new regulatory body,” Aleta said.

RA 5207, or the Atomic Energy Regulatory and Liability Act of 1968, encourages, promotes and assists the development and use of atomic energy for all peaceful purposes, including the production and use of atomic energy facilities and atomic energy materials, subject to regulations.

The regulations will cover matters involving nuclear power, nuclear and radioactive materials, facilities and radiation-generating equipment used for diagnosis and treatment of diseases in hospitals and medical centers, and industrial activities in the country, the DOST-PNRI news release said.

Currently, the DOST-PNRI serves as the national regulatory body for nuclear and radioactive materials.

The BNPP was mothballed by administration of President Corazon Aquino in 1986 over alleged safety issues.