DOE puts nuclear financing on 90-day fast track
Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin
As the country reconsiders nuclear energy, the Department of Energy (DOE) is set to explore financing options in coordination with the Department of Finance (DOF), the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDev), and the Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), among other agencies.
In a statement, the DOE announced it has issued a comprehensive framework to integrate nuclear energy into the national power mix, a move intended to help establish the country’s first commercially developed and operated nuclear power plant (NPP).
The DOE will tap the DOF, DepDev, and MIC to explore participation or financing models within 90 days of the circular’s issuance. The framework will also include flexible contracting mechanisms such as auctions, direct contracting, or aggregation for industrial and economic zone use.
Separately, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will adopt a regulatory asset base (RAB) model, or a similar capital recovery scheme, anchored on minimum contract terms of 25 years.
The pioneer nuclear power plant will also automatically be granted a Certificate of Energy Project of National Significance (CEPNS).
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said that a ready workforce is key to pushing the integration forward.
“While infrastructure, technology and regulatory frameworks form the backbone of a nuclear program, it is ultimately the people as embodied by our scientists, engineers, regulators, policymakers and young professionals who will ensure its safe, secure and sustainable implementation,” she said.
To support this, the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC) is collaborating with academic institutions on courses, trainings, scholarships, and partnerships in the field of nuclear energy.