Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi vowed to include nuclear power into the Philippines’ energy mix even without the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), he told senators at the hearing for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2021 budget Tuesday.
This comes with the intention of ensuring the country’s energy mix, according to Cusi, explaining further that the (DOE) would lay down the policy framework since investors would be building nuclear power plants.
While the secretary said that Russian and Korean experts had studied the BNPPP and even insisted that it could be revived, he pointed out that there should be a thorough study since a local government unit has opposed the reopening.
President Rodrigo Duterte created a task force back in July to study the feasibility of having nuclear power in the energy mix. The task force is expected to give its recommendations by December.
Built in 1976, the BNPP was supposed to be the Philippines’ first nuclear power plant. Following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and a study that found many defects in and around the plant, former President Corazon Aquino disallowed its operation. Bataan residents and activists have since then opposed the reopening of the plant.
Duterte had also said that he wanted to conduct a consultation with locals before proceeding with plans to revive the plant.
Photo courtesy: Yahoo News
