As time passes, the country risks becoming a doormat in terms of ensuring an ample supply of electricity at an economical cost, which are the benefits being realized by its neighbors through nuclear energy.
There are 445 nuclear reactors in the world that are currently in operation and another 57 are under construction.
A total of 30 countries are involved in nuclear energy production, including the US, France, China, Japan and Russia, according to the National Academy of Science and Technology, which is the authority on nuclear energy in the absence of a regulator.
The global capacity of nuclear power, however, has progressively decreased due to changes in Western government policies and the shutdown of reactors in Japan, Germany and the US.
Still, there was an increase in global nuclear generation by 1.4 percent in 2016 largely attributed to China’s 23-percent rise.
Nuclear power’s share in the total generation mix fell to 11 percent in 2015 but still corresponds to nearly a third of the world’s low-carbon electricity production.
In the ASEAN, the primary demand for energy grew by 70 percent between 2000 and 2016.
Three-fourths of the region’s energy production is based on fossil fuels. Vietnam is intent on expanding nuclear power generation as manifested by its agreement with Russia and Japan to build two plants.
Thailand, on the other hand, has not pursued its nuclear program since 2014, while Indonesia will open to nuclear energy after 2025.
The Malaysia Nuclear Power Corporation states that the country will wait until 2030 for a similar facility of its own.
Recently, the House special committee on nuclear energy adopted a resolution calling on the Department of Energy to create a Nuclear Energy Division.
Pangasinan Representative Mark Cojuangco, the panel chairperson, adopted House Resolution 387, which is in line with the objective of incorporating nuclear power into the energy mix.
The proposed DoE division would be in charge of developing the framework for utilizing and managing nuclear energy in the country.
It should also further advance the plan to utilize nuclear energy to combat the rising prices and the lack of electricity supply.
In his first State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said it was “time to re-examine” the country’s strategy toward building nuclear power plants.
“We must build new power plants. We must take advantage of all the best technology that is now available, especially in the area of renewable energy,” he said.
An additional capacity of 43.765 megawatts or an additional 73 high-capacity power plants will be needed by 2040.
Its continued dependence on imported fossil fuels makes the country vulnerable to world energy price volatilities.
By comparison, the cost of generating nuclear energy is less sensitive to fuel price hikes due to the larger component contributed by its capital cost, thus making nuclear plants an important baseload power generation source as demonstrated in many countries.
The government’s international commitment to bring down greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent will bank on the nuclear energy initiative since renewable energy is not delivering the benefits as promised.
Coupled with strong programs on carbonless energy production, considerable greenhouse gas reductions can expectedly be achieved.
As the country heavily relies on fossil-based fuels, energy from nuclear fuel is seen as a viable solution to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Global energy demand is predicted to increase by 2030 and so with the carbon emission.
For several urgent reasons, economic growth and the ecological balance included, the imperative is for the DoE to defy its detractors and step up to embrace nuclear power as a source of electricity.