THE NUCLEAR LOBBY HAS BEGAN IN THE PHILIPPINE! Read this article below. Partido Kalikasan strongly opposes the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plants (BNPP) in the Philippines. Solidarity statements from other Greens in the region are most welcome.
MORONG, BATAAN―Incoming president Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III should consider nuclear energy as a viable solution to meet growing energy demands and help alleviate fears of a power crisis, according to officials from the power industry.
Aquino's openness to adopting nuclear technology could pave the way for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the country's “energy generation mix” to prevent power shortages when the supply of fossil fuels―the country's primary source of electricity and energy―runs out in the next four decades, says Dennis Gana, head of corporate communications at National Power Corp. (Napocor).
“Not only is Napocor pushing for the opening of BNPP, but especially the adoption of nuclear energy as a long term source of power,” Gana points out.
“Today, we have been suffering from energy generation deficiencies in Mindanao and Visayas, and even in Luzon the supply is very thin. Nuclear energy is eyed as an option to improve the generation mix and the commissioning of BNPP (Bataan Nuclear Power Plant), which was never operated as a commercial power plant,” he says.
The plant has a capacity of 620 megawatts of power, which could prevent the six-hour power shortages in the Luzon-Visayas grid or five percent of the country’s energy requirement in the country, adds Gana.
Located in Morong, the BNPP was built under the late former president Ferdinand Marcos in response to the oil crisis during the 1970s. The plant costs P2.2 billion to build. After the 1986 Edsa Revolt, the late former president Corazon Aquino mothballed the plant due to overpricing and safety issues, later disproved by international experts.
The Interagency Core Group on Nuclear Energy, formed by Department of Energy and the Department of Science and Technology, will present to Sen. Aquino a report on the status of the nuclear energy adoption in the Asian region.
“We are now preparing the report that will address issues related to BNPP and some proposals which can be used in deciding whether to reopen the plant, build a new plant and to keep their options open in terms of going nuclear,” says Gana.
As of 2007, there are 111 nuclear reactors in Asia Pacific including those in China, India, Japan, South Korea. Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia arte finalizing plans to build nuclear plants, says Mauro Marcelo, Napocor asset preservation head.
“We are surrounded by countries with nuclear power plants. Kahit hindi tayo magtayo maaapektuhan tayo,” says Marcelo, who was part of the team that conducted functional test of the BNPP in 1984, when it generated 5MW from the heat of reactor pumps.
By opening BNPP, the country would be able to utilize its $2.3 billion loan in the plant, which was paid fully only in 2007 out of taxpayer's money, says Gana.
Under the bill filed by Pangasinan Representative Mark Cojuangco, the rehabilitation of BNPP, over the next four or five years, would cost $1 billion, according to a study by Korean Electric Corp. (Kepco).
This would include refurbishments including the update of manual dials to digital controls, which would still be relatively cheaper than the $5-$6 billion required to build a new plant in the next 15 years.
“We already have the plant here which we paid for and it offers us an option to have a secure and reliable energy source,” says Napocor’s Marcelo.
“There are no firm plans on how to source the fund. But the pending Congress bill by Cojuangco included a budget provision. So if this bill is passed into law, the provision will be included. In another scenario, the most probable source would be investors and the Department of Finance (DoF) can help source the funds since the facility is government-run,” says Gana.
The facility is maintained and preserved at a cost of P40 million, especially for the generator, pipes, gears and controls. The cost would be shouldered by the DoF soon, he adds.
