Gatchalian sees PH tapping nuke energy within Bongbong Marcos term

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian (File photo from the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines — Small modular reactors (SMRs) may see the light of day in the Philippines in two to six years’ time, once the government renews its pitch for this alternative source of power, Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian said.

SMRs, which are a fraction of the size of a conventional nuclear power reactor, can produce low-carbon electricity at about a third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear facilities, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).Given its modular nature, SMRs can be factory-assembled and transported as a unit to a location, for installation into an existing grid or remotely off-grid, making them ideal for isolated areas with limited grid capacity.

Gatchalian, vice chair of the Senate energy committee, said he would expect the adoption of SMRs toward the latter part of the term of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

“Within his term, we can see the deployment of small modular reactors in one or two years, but not the large ones with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts and above because [that] will take 10 years to build,” he said at a forum on Wednesday titled “The Future Energy Show Philippines.”

The senator said Marcos was actually being “very careful” in pushing for a nuclear energy program, despite expressing support for this move in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona).

“The message I get from his Sona is that we have to be very careful and it has to be backed by a law,” Gatchalian told reporters. “We do not have a regulator on nuclear energy and it has to be independent. We cannot be biased because we are talking about safety.”

Not among priorities

Apart from Marcos’ first report to Congress, the only official record indicating government readiness to undertake a nuclear program is Executive Order No. 164, issued last February by his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

The order “adopting a national position for a nuclear energy program,” while guided by economic and even environmental “objectives,” also considers the “use and viability” of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant built during the time of the President’s father and namesake.

Gatchalian also pointed out that the government had yet to enter into conventions and treaties on nuclear energy.

According to the IAEA, a country seeking to embark on a nuclear energy program needs to first resolve as many as 19 infrastructure issues.

Tapping nuclear energy will also require a regulatory framework, the senator said. “Looking at the legislative process, that will take two years and then from then on, power plants can be built,” Gatchalian said.

But as of now, nuclear energy is not even among the legislative priorities that the energy panel headed by Sen. Raffy Tulfo is considering, he added.

Gatchalian, however, suggested that the government first convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council.

“This is very technical and … Congress cannot do it alone. We need the technical experts to write it and we also need international lawyers … to participate because that’s part of the international convention,” he said.

—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

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