PH making ‘significant progress’ in nuclear push

INIR mission team leader Mehmet Ceyhan presents the draft report to Raphael P.M. Lotilla, Philippine Secretary of Energy, at the closing meeting on 6 December. (Photo: Department of Energy of the Philippines)

The Philippines’ capability to deploy nuclear energy for power generation has made “significant progress,” according to an international team formed by the Austria-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

From an initial mission launched in 2018, the Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (Inir) mission conducted another assessment last week on the country’s capacity to embrace this technology in beefing up its electricity supply.

This new round of assessment, conducted upon the Philippine government’s request, was led by two international experts from Türkiye and Pakistan and two IAEA staff.

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“The Philippines expanded the composition of its Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organization (NEPIO) to 24 organizations, and all sub-committees of NEPIO are actively engaged to implement relevant activities,” mission team leader Mehmet Ceyhan, technical lead in the IAEA Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section, said in a statement over the weekend.

“This indicates the level of commitment of the Philippines to proceed with their nuclear power program,” Ceyhan added.

However, the mission team noted that more work needs to be done before the Philippines can launch nuclear energy, especially in the field of the country’s grid network, industrial involvement, and national legislation.

In a separate statement, Energy chief Raphael Lotilla welcomed the assessment of the IAEA team, saying this “reflects the Philippine government’s steadfast commitment to developing a robust nuclear power program.”

“This collaboration strengthens our ability to adopt nuclear energy responsibly alongside renewable energy sources, driving us closer to our goal of inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants to have the country’s first nuclear power plants up and running by 2032, with an initial capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

During his late father’s dictatorship, the government built the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). However, this was never in operation after construction had been completed in 1986 due to allegations of corruption and issues with safety.