2 big nuclear power producers keen on RP

MANILA, Philippines – Two of the world’s biggest nuclear power producers have expressed interest in putting up a new nuclear power facility in the Philippines, a ranking energy official said.

National Power Corp. (Napocor) president Froilan Tampinco said Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) and a French power firm have signified their intentions to submit proposals to construct a nuclear facility in Bataan capable of producing between 600-800 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

The Napocor chief noted that due to the archipelagic structure of the Philippines, it is ideal to put up small (600-800 MW) nuclear power facilities.

Tampinco said Kepco, a government-owned utility, is the world’s third largest nuclear energy producer with an installed generation capacity of 17,716 MW as of end-2008. It operates 20 commercial nuclear power units with eight more units currently under construction and an additional 10 units planned to be built by 2030.

Kepco earlier conducted a feasibility study on the reactivation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and estimated that repowering the facility would cost about $1 billion.

Tampinco, however, declined to name the France-based power firm but hinted that it is one of the biggest nuclear power generating companies in that country.

It would be noted that Electricite de France (EDF) manages 59 nuclear power facilities. As of 2008, these plants produce about 78 percent France’s electrical power production (of which some is exported), making it the world leader in the production of nuclear power.

These firms are both eyeing Bataan as site for the new nuclear facility, he pointed out.

Tampinco noted that the BNPP has provision for a total of 1,200 MW capacity, doubled from its 600-MW installed capacity.

While, there was a setback with the disapproval in Congress of the budget for nuclear energy development, Tampinco remains confident the country will have to keep nuclear as one of the options to generate much-needed additional power capacity in the future.

But Tampinco expressed optimism that since the Department of Energy’s Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) already included nuclear as another form of power source in the long-term, developments and researches would continue.

The Philippines is planning to start up its first 600-MW nuclear power plant by 2025, based on the PEP.

It also projected that additional nuclear capacities of 600 MW would be in place by 2027, 2030 and 2034. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)