DOE to showcase PBBM admin's nuclear plan at global event

LONDON, England – The Philippines is taking center stage at the ongoing World Nuclear Symposium here to apprise global investors of the Marcos administration’s renaissance play into nuclear power installations as part of the country’s energy mix by the next decade.

Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Sharon S. Garin will be presenting the nuclear development pathway being cast by the Marcos administration, including propounded deployments of small modular reactors (SMRs) in sites that shall be strategically chosen both by the government and the prospective investors.

In an interview here, Garin noted “it’s an opportunity for the Philippines to show them that we are serious about nuclear and we need all the assistance from the different investing communities for this technology development.”

The Philippines is eyeing initial nuclear power installations of up to 1,200 megawatts capacity by 2032, and while at its inception phase, the country is already being viewed by the global investing community as prospective newcomer in this technology rollout sphere.

Apart from the Asian nuclear powerhouses of Japan, South Korea, China and India, the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country that has been invited by the World Nuclear Association to present its investment goal for SMRs and even prospective buildout of conventional reactors.

Apart from the well-known dilemmas of social acceptance, policy and regulation crafting as well as ensuring safety of nuclear power development and operations, the energy official indicated that the other key concerns the government must seriously weigh on would be those on supply chain and financing concerns.

“On issues of supply chain and financing, that is a totally new ball game for the Philippines, so at least, we’re giving word to the global community that we are still navigating these,” she stressed.

Supply chain concerns range from uranium production cycle and supply sourcing; conversion and enrichment of fuels – including the need to avoid those that could be regarded as nuclear weapons-grade enrichment; power plant construction issues that shall also cover technical expertise of workers plus the distressing cost overruns; then the eventual perturbations of waste management and disposal as well as decommissioning.

Garin emphasized that the common thread of discussion at the global nuclear conference had been on project delays precipitated by cost overruns experienced by developers in their projects, hence, that is a tough lesson that the Philippine government and even the prospective investors must carefully evaluate moving forward.

“On the financing part, there will be huge capital outlay for nuclear projects; and even developed countries like the UAE (United Arab Emirates) encountered project delays and that entailed additional billions of investments, so it’s not that easy probably for us on the financing side,” she stated.

Garin similarly highlighted “another one that we need to think about is how we will eventually advance on the construction phase of the planned projects, then project management – so that’s where we would be needing additional help, to develop expertise on nuclear power plant construction and operations.”

On the policy milieu, the DOE official conveyed that the current ‘nuclear position’ of the government serves as a good starting point, but for this targeted investment direction to be sustained, the enactment of a law underpinning nuclear power development shall serve as the ‘no turning back point’ for the Philippines.