NuScale Power Corporation, a nuclear energy company from the United States, has expressed its interest in investing in the Philippines.
In a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the company committed to an investment of USD 6.5 billion to USD 7.5 billion (PHP 415.5 billion) for a project that aims to provide 430 megawatts by early 2031, according to a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office.
As the country faces power shortages, NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) was highlighted by Marcos Jr. as a potential solution, saying “We need everything. We just have to have everything and this new technology is something.”
NuScale’s executive vice president for business, Clayton Scott, shared that their SMR “will perform as expected,” and it is the first and only one of its kind to receive approval from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The energy company has ongoing projects in Utah, Indonesia, Romania, and Poland that provide safe and affordable clean energy to consumers.
In related developments, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that a law should be put in place to protect people and the environment from the risks that nuclear energy poses.
In a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the IAEA said the law on nuclear energy should contain regulatory control, compensation and liability, safe and secure uses, offenses and penalties, international cooperation, and peaceful uses.
Nevertheless, IAEA said that SMRs are best for locations where large and conventional nuclear reactors are not viable due to geographical limitations.
Photo from Presidential Communications Office