Nuclear energy and new DoE leadership
Among the important achievements of outgoing Department of Energy (DoE) Secretary Raphael PM Lotilla is building a strong legal and regulatory framework for nuclear energy, including pushing for the creation of the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM), plus submitting the necessary requirements for the ratification of existing nuclear energy-related agreements. Good job, Sir, although the Senate is slow to act on the PhilATOM bill.
The DoE also recently launched a series of Nuclear Energy Awareness Training (NEAT) seminars. The last one was held last week, May 20-22, at the Park Inn by Radisson in Quezon City, organized by the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC). The next NEAT is “Philippine Nuclear Energy 101: Powering the Future” on June 9-11 in Makati City.
Nuclear energy remains popular among many countries in the world. The state of nuclear reactor builds are defined as follows: “Operable” are those connected to the grid already, “Under Construction” have first concrete already poured and keel layed for floating plants, “Planned” have approvals and funding or commitment in place and are mostly expected to be in operation within the next 15 years, and “Proposed” are specific programs or site proposals but timing is uncertain.
Since this column came out with a list of nuclear reactors worldwide1, several changes that have happened in just two months, like some “Proposed” reactors that became “Planned” and some “Planned” that became “Under Construction.” So I am updating the table, but for the purpose of brevity I will not include countries with a smaller number of reactors.
The US and France remain the nuclear powerhouses, but China will soon catch up then overtake them since it has a huge number of reactors under construction and planned. Russia and Ukraine are also ramping up (see the table).
Five other Asian countries are going nuclear. They are Bangladesh, which has two reactors which can generate 2,400 megawatts (MW) under construction with plus two proposed reactors that can generate 2,400 MW; Saudi Arabia, which has two proposed 2,800-MW reactors; Vietnam, which has four 1,000-MW reactors; Indonesia, which has two 500-MW reactors; and the Philippines, which plans to have 1,200 MW generated by nuclear power by 2032.
Two countries no longer have nuclear power. Taiwan used to have six reactors with a 5,058 MW capacity and those have all been shut down, with the last reactor closed just this month. Germany used to have 36 reactors with a capacity of 26,411 MW, and all have been shut down. The last three, with a combined capacity of 4,055 MW, were closed in April 2023.
In an “Inquirer Campus Talks” held at the UP Diliman College of Engineering on May 9, engineer Suiee Suarez, Vice-President for Corporate Affairs of Aboitiz Power, made some interesting points in his talk, “Engineering a Greener Grid: Integrating Innovation and Sustainability in Energy Infrastructure.”
Among the things he said were the need to “integrate nuclear power and more LNG (liquefied natural gas) to our supply… exercise pragmatism with ‘first-of-a-kind’ technologies like small modular nuclear reactors… A hybrid or diversified system will mitigate the disadvantages inherent in each source and technology, while still delivering the result we want: reliable electricity.”
It is a good thing that Mr. Suarez included nuclear power as part of a green and hybrid energy system. Many people dismiss even natural gas in grid expansion because it is also a fossil fuel. Nuclear power would be more acceptable to them.
Since President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has appointed Mr. Lotilla as the new Environment Secretary during the current cabinet reshuffle, I can think of two prominent individuals who could possibly succeed him in the DoE. They are DoE Undersecretary Sharon Garin, who is now the OIC Secretary, and Emmanuel Rubio, retired President of Aboitiz Power and now President of Meralco Power Gen (MGEN).
Ms. Garin was part of the Philippine Nuclear Trade Mission to Canada that I went on in March 2024, organized by the Canadian Embassy in Manila, along with Science Undersecretary Leah Buendia, Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Monalisa Dimalanta, among others. Ms. Garin has gained more exposure on the subject as she recently returned to Canada to study its nuclear industry with another set of Philippine participants.
Mr. Rubio is an experienced builder and/or manager of big power plants, from thermal (coal, oil, gas, geothermal) to renewables (hydro, solar), as well as having experience in their linkage to power distribution.
As I wrote last week2, the Philippines has among the lowest levels of power generation per capita in Asia. In 2023, ours was only 1,054 kilowatt-hour (kWh) per person while Indonesia’s was 1,264 kWh, Vietnam’s was 2,756 kWh, Malaysia’ was 5,674 kWh, China’s was 6,700 kWh, Japan’s was 8,132 kWh, South Korea’s was 11,975 kWh, and Taiwan’s was 12,109 kWh per person. Pitiful. We need to significantly improve on this.
In addition, Meralco has advanced and proactive preparations for the Philippines going nuclear and Mr. Rubio is part of it. Meralco has two big initiatives — the Nuclear Energy Strategic Transition (NEST) and the Filipino Scholars and Interns on Nuclear Engineering (FISSION) programs.
Mr. Rubio’s appointment would have one legal hurdle: the DoE law of 1992 (RA 7638), Section 8 prohibits any officer of any private energy company from being appointed as DoE Secretary within two years of separation or retirement. It is an old law, 33 years old or older than EPIRA of 2001 (RA 9136).
Nonetheless, we need a DoE Secretary with deep knowledge and wisdom in expanding power generation, transmission, and distribution, and a deep appreciation of the role of nuclear energy in our economy.
1“Philippine nuclear energy, soon please,” March 11
2“Raising generation kWh per capita, not renewables” (May 20)
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an international fellow of the Tholos Foundation.
