The Department of Energy (DOE) has tapped the Maharlika Investment Corporation (MIC) to explore nuclear costings and finances to help advance its development of alternative energy sources in the Philippines.
On the sidelines of the Philippine International Nuclear Supply Chain Forum, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla shared that part of the nuclear developments in the country would involve examining financing options, among other aspects.
“We have asked Maharlika to study the costing and what financing mechanisms might be available and that’s why, as I emphasized this morning, we would like to find out also from our partners how to raise the finances in such a way that the upfront cost in building nuclear power plants would not be shouldered alone by the current generation of Filipinos,” he explained.
Lotilla clarified that there will not be any Maharlika funding included, as it would only focus on studying the financing options available to pursue nuclear developments.
“They will get back to us as far as the studies…but it’s not costing; it’s just examining what the alternative forms of financing and the sources of financing are,” he said.
“But we won't know what the cost is until after we have settled all the issues of what technologies we will be using, where the site will be, what the particular needs of the site are, and so on.”
Nuclear investments are not off the table yet, as Patrick Aquino, the director of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB), said it would be up to the MIC to decide whether or not they would like to pursue nuclear investments as well.
“For a country like us and our aspirations, electricity power is a big component. So, you know, we leave it up to the sound judgment of Maharlika whether they come in at whatever stake,” he told reporters.
“So what they are looking at, we’ll be providing them the information from this event and from all of the things that we are doing so that they can make an informed decision on the extent, if ever, they will invest in nuclear.”
Given that nuclear energy is a low-carbon energy source, Aquino anticipates that MIC could help with the government’s goal to commercially operate its power plants by 2032 and add an initial 1,200-megawatt capacity to the Philippines’ power mix.
Nuclear updates
The DOE further stated there is an existing partnership with the United States through the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreements or the 123 Agreements.
This collaboration has a legal framework that lays out the guidelines to export nuclear materials, equipment, and components from the US to the Philippines.
“The 123 agreement with the US has already entered into force because the concurrence there is not by the entire US Congress but just an oversight committee that gives its approval,” Lotilla said.
“So the US government already informed us several months back that it entered into force for the United States and that also entered into force on the part of the Philippines and therefore went into full effectivity at that time.”
The DOE chief also shared that the US has already engaged with the local private sector and government agencies on various nuclear requirements.