Nuclear Energy was considered as an alternative source of energy after the
1973 oil crisis, in which the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
was affected. The
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines' ...
was built in the early 1980s as a result, but never went into operation. It was mothballed by Former President
Corazon Aquino on the fear of reactor meltdown after the
Chernobyl Disaster as well as the increase of the price of the plant. The
Fukushima nuclear disaster
The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 ...
dampened further efforts to revive nuclear energy in the philippines and gave pause to efforts to revive the plant.
There have been proposals in 2009 and 2016 to operate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
The
Philippine Research Reactor-1 had been operated from 1963 until 1988 by the
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is a government agency under the Department of Science and Technology mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, institute regulations on ...
in
Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...
.
In December 2020, a group of experts from
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was invited by the Philippine government to review the country's nuclear infrastructure. Energy Secretary
Alfonso Cusi has been quoted saying that the mission will help with finally making nuclear power a part of the country's
energy mix.
On February 28, 2022, President
Rodrigo Duterte approved and signed a executive order to include nuclear power in the country's energy mix, as authorities prepare to phase out of coal-fired power plants and after earlier efforts failed due to safety concerns. The order states that it can combat the power outages and the electricity prices, despite environmental radiation concerns. Duterte said nuclear power would be tapped as a viable alternative baseload power source as the Philippines seeks to retire coal plants to help meet climate goals. The weak electrical grid connections between the over 1000 inhabited islands of the Philippine archipelago presents a challenge to a nuclear policy. The mothballed
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines' ...
is close to
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, the largest electrical demand location, so is an option for revival or the site of a new plant.
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
Under a regime of martial law, Philippine President
Ferdinand Marcos in July 1973 announced the decision to build a nuclear power plant. This was in response to the 1973 oil crisis, as the Middle East oil embargo had put a heavy strain on the Philippine economy, and Marcos believed nuclear power to be the solution to meeting the country's energy demands and decreasing dependence on imported oil.
ABS-CBN Interactive
Construction on the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant began in 1976. Following the 1979
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, construction on the BNPP was stopped, and a subsequent safety inquiry into the plant revealed over 4,000 defects (not confirmed). Among the issues raised was that it was built near major
faults and close to the then dormant
Pinatubo volcano.
Issues of overpricing, bribery, corruption, mismanagement were also raised.
In 2009, a bill was filed in the Philippine House of Representatives to recommission and operate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
The cost for rehabilitation was placed at USD1 billion, to be shouldered by taxpayers through loans and additional charges to consumers. The Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, No to BNPP Revival, and Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM), and the Freedom from Debt Coalition opposed the bill, saying that the nuclear plant was defective and dangerous and harbored technical flaw.
Concerns were also raised in the House of Representatives concerning nuclear waste disposal, geological hazards, and unfinished debt payments.
The Department of Energy of the Philippines in 2016 revived proposals to operate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant,
with the cost for rehabilitating the plant estimated at USD1 billion.
Proponents to revive the plant cite possible cost saving and sustainability. Issues were raised against the plant in the Philippine Senate and by Greenpeace Philippines, No to BNPP, Nuclear Free Bataan Movement, and Balanga (Bataan) Bishop Ruperto Santos regarding corruption, cost, and safety.
See also
*
Electricity sector in the Philippines
The electricity sector in the Philippines provides electricity through power generation, transmission, and distribution to many parts of the Philippines. The Philippines is divided into three electrical grids, one each for Luzon, the Visayas ...
*
Philippine Research Reactor-1
*
Philippine Nuclear Research Institute
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) is a government agency under the Department of Science and Technology mandated to undertake research and development activities in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, institute regulations on ...
*
Anti-nuclear movement in the Philippines
The anti-nuclear movement in the Philippines aimed to stop the construction of nuclear power facilities and terminate the presence of American military bases, which were believed to house nuclear weapons on Philippine soil. Anti-nuclear demonstra ...
References
{{Asia topic, Nuclear energy in, state=expand