Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla asked state-run National Power Corp. to look at modular nuclear as a power source for missionary areas or communities that are not served by the power grid.
“As we go down the road and consider new opportunities in modular nuclear or even the future of fusion as a source of power, these are the opportunities that [NPC] may look into,” Lotilla said.
Lotilla made the call during Napocor’s 86th founding anniversary on Thursday.
The energy secretary said NPC should study growth opportunities, considering it was the pioneer in renewable energy sources such as hydro and geothermal.
Lotilla earlier said the regulatory framework for nuclear should be established first.
He urged NPC not to limit itself to present-day affairs or challenges, but to look beyond and see the opportunities for a strengthened power sector.
NPC president and chief executive Fernando Martin Roxas expressed confidence the company could emerge from the fuel price crisis as a much stronger organization.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said it was time to re-examine the country’s strategy for building nuclear power plants in the Philippines.
“We will comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations for nuclear power plants as they have been strengthened after Fukushima. In the area of nuclear power, there have been new technologies developed that allow smaller scale modular nuclear plants and other derivations thereof,” Marcos said.
SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors with a capacity of up to 300 MW or about a third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said modular nuclear power or small nuclear reactors could be established in the country in the next four to six years. Gatchalian said the legislative process would take about two years.
“And from then on, we can start building power plants. I can see the modular plants come in by 2026 or 2028, and since it’s small, it can be easily deployed,” he said.
Gatchalian said among the first steps to take is to have an executive-legislative coordination meeting on what laws are needed.
“It’s very technical, and Congress and Senate cannot do it alone. We need the technical experts to write it, and we also need international lawyers,” Gatchalian said.