News & Updates

DOE bats for nuclear energy in Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050

Liam Calvin Joshua C. Lu

 

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released its Philippine Energy Plan (“PEP”) for 2023 to 2050, articulating its ambitious Philippine Nuclear Energy Program (the “Program”). The Program is intended to decrease reliance on carbon-emitting fuels in the country’s power generation mix.

 

The Program is fundamentally based on Executive Order No. 164 (2022), which outlines the basic national position on the issue of nuclear energy, and mandates the DOE with crafting and outlining the Program.

 

Under the Program, the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC), comprising 24 government agencies headed by the DOE, is charged with spearheading the Program. The Program calls for, among other things, the creation of a new independent nuclear regulatory body which would be operational by 2028. The regulatory body shall take charge of implementing the regulatory framework on nuclear energy, which has yet to be crafted.

 

Aside from the long-dormant Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, the NEP-IAC has already assessed 11 potential nuclear power sites nationwide. In particular, the NEP-IAC aims to explore the possibility of installing nuclear power plants in Mindoro Island and in Palawan.

 

To encourage investment in nuclear energy, the NEP-IAC has crafted the National Policy for the Promotion of Nuclear Energy and will review and propose investment incentives for the sector, understanding the substantial upfront costs in setting up nuclear power plants.

 

The DOE aims to have the first nuclear energy plants become commercially operational by 2032, with at least 1,200 MW entering the country’s power generation mix. Nuclear power generation capacity is to be increased to 2,400 MW by 2035, and 4,800 MW by 2050. Under the DOE’s Clean Energy Scenario (“CES”), in which the government’s aggressive interventions in the energy sector are successfully implemented, the share of nuclear power in the generation mix rises to about 7.9% of total primary energy supply by 2050.

 

Overall, under the CES, total renewable energy share in the energy mix is set to rise to 41.1%, while the share of fossil fuels is projected to drop by a cumulative 16.5 percentage points to 51% in 2050 (compared to 67.4% in 2022).

 

On the other hand, under the Reference Scenario, where current energy policies are merely maintained, total RE share in the energy mix will only increase to 35.5% in 2050, with fossil fuels remaining at 65% of the energy mix.

 

The PEP comes at the heels of the conclusion of the “Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” or the “123 Agreement” between the Philippines and the United States last November 2023, which, once entered into force, will facilitate the transfer of information, nuclear material, and components between the two countries to foster the growth of civilian nuclear uses in the Philippines.