Marcos eyes nuclear energy use to stave off power crisis

BY BETHEENA UNITE

May 12, 2023 01:55 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has once again pronounced his intention to tap nuclear energy to avert possible power crisis in the country

• He said the Philippines is "open to everything" as it needs additional power supply at present

• His statement came after the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) urged the public to support the plan to adopt nuclear technology for power generation to cut down the increasing energy costs in the country

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President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is keen on tapping nuclear energy to beef up the country's power supply and avert a possible power crisis.

President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. answers questions from the media on board a flight back to Manila after attending the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Indonesia on May 11, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Yummie Dingding / PPA POOL)

Marcos revealed that even before assuming the presidency, he had been looking to nuclear energy as an option to address the power shortage in the country.

"Even before I took office, pinag-uusapan na namin tingnan ‘yan. It turns out there are many nuclear technologies, iba-iba. Ang dami naming natutunan in our last visit to Washington and then --- even yung nasa EU (European Union) kami, marami palang iba-iba (we were already talking about that. It turns out there are many nuclear technologies, of different kinds. We learned a lot in our last visit to Washington and then even in EU, we learned there were actually a lot of technologies)," Marcos said in a media interview onboard his flight back from Indonesia on Thursday, May 11.

The President said when it comes to power, the Philippines is "open to everything" as the country needs additional power supply at present.

“So, what else can we do? Find new sources. That’s what we’re trying to do. The situation with renewables is also improving but we may have found some other technologies na hindi mag-antay ng lead time ng (that won't have lead time of up to) six, seven years,” the President added.

Marcos' statement on nuclear energy came days after the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) urged the public to support the administration's plan to adopt nuclear technology for power generation to cut down the increasing energy costs in the country.

Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) Director Carlos Arcilla stressed the need to lower the cost of electricity to attract more investors, boost economic activity, and reduce the burden of consumers.

Island provinces or those not connected to the grid, will particularly benefit from using small modular nuclear reactors, the PNRI official said.

Marcos earlier eyed a “cutting-edge” micro nuclear fuel technology to solve the country’s power crisis particularly after he met with officials of Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp., a US-based firm global leader and vertical integrator of nuclear technologies and services.

USNC officials expressed interest in bringing clean and reliable nuclear energy to the Philippines, describing the move as "probably a very important way for us to enter the market.”

They are also considering the Philippines for its first nuclear energy facility in Southeast Asia and vowed to help address the series of blackouts that hit several areas of the country. 

A world without fossil fuels?

SAT, NOVEMBER 18, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

A world without  fossil fuels?

As today's Editoral in MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR (November 17, 2017)  goes: "President Duterte has changed heart and now gave the Department of Energy the green light to consider plans to reactivate the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. This after the Philippine and Russian governments agreed to cooperate in the development of national nuclear infrastructure in the country... ."

Allow me to ask: Is it possible to fulfill all our global energy needs with renewables only? And which technologies work best to help us transition to a world without fossil fuels? Scientists give answers at COP23, which is still ongoing in Bonn/Germany at this moment.

"A full decarbonization of the electricity system by 2050 is possible for lower system cost than today based on available technology," said Christian Breyer, who heads a team of international researchers at Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) in Finland.

Breyer and his team looked at data from all over the world, such as energy consumption, demographic development and weather. They also analyzed which technologies are expected to be the cheapest in the next three decades.

"Energy transition is no longer a question of technical feasibility or economic viability, but of political will," Breyer added. Breyer's team and NGO Energy Watch Group (EWG) presented their findings at COP23 in Bonn.

And I learned: falling costs give rise to solar power. Why? Due to rapidly falling costs, solar photovoltaic (solar PV) and battery storage are the main drivers of securing the global energy supply. Solar PV's share of total power supply is expected to rise from 37 percent in 2030 to almost 70 percent by 2050, the study said.

Wind energy would make up 18 percent, hydropower 8 percent and bioenergy 2 percent of the total global energy mix by 2050, according to the scientists' estimates.

The energy mix would of course look slightly different in areas with a lot of wind and fewer hours of sunshine, such as in Europe's and Asia's northern regions. 

  

And here are several Germany's climate innovators: A sunny future for e-cars? To guarantee access to electricity day and night reliable storage is of course a must. According to Breyer's simulation, about 30 percent of overall demand in 2050 will be met by storage output and 95 percent of that, in turn, will be covered by batteries alone. The study's authors have calculated with a global population of almost 10 billion people by 2050 - that means the world's hunger for power is expected to double as a result.

Twice as many new jobs? Maybe These changes are obviously helping with air quality and overall a more healthy environment, but they also help with jobs. At the moment, there are about 19 million people who are employed in the energy sector - half of those are working for the coal industry. These jobs will be made redundant by the transition to renewables; however, twice as many new jobs would be created as a result, according to estimates.

Huge strides towards cutting down emissions - another headline nowadays!  At COP23 in Bonn, delegates are trying to come up with ways to reduce carbon emissions to limit global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius and help mitigate climate disasters.

Global energy production - especially coal - contributes to 20 percent of all carbon emissions. If the electricity system were to only be powered by renewables, emissions could drop by 60 percent by 2025. By 2030, they could drop by 80 percent.

"Such a scenario is indeed realistic, since renewable energy sources are becoming cheaper and cheaper," said climate economist Claudia Kemfert of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin (DIW) when the study was released.

Now, is it utopia or realistic scenario?

"We've seen in the past that all studies did underestimate the development of renewable energy. That's why it's going so much quicker than anticipated and we are looking ahead to the next three decades, where we can meet the target of 100 percent renewables in our energy mix," Claudia Kemfert added.

Energy Watch Group head Hans-Josef Fell agrees with that assessment and says the finance sector also plays a huge role in accelerating this dynamic. "Financial institutions now regard investments in coal, nuclear, oil and gas as risky and terminate their commitments," he said.

Renewable energy sources are regarded as safe alternatives. That is a fact!

"This scenario is essentially the basis if we want to fulfill international responsibilities as laid out by the Paris agreement," said Stefan Gsänger of the World Wind Energy Association. But he was also quick to point out that this is by no means a market-driven self-seller. "I hope we'll build up enough pressure on political decision makers all over the world," he added.

European Member of Parliament Arne Lietz of the Social Democrats says there is still a huge deficit.

"This scenario shows that we must urgently rethink current politics," he said. "But politics are not there yet." Lietz added that "big lobbyists trying to influence the government to keep investing into fossil fuels and ruin economies" were blocking efforts.

Back to nuclear power - and please allow me again to quote today's MIRROR-Editorial:  After the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine back in 1986 all governments should really think twice and act with caution. 

Nuclear energy booming in Asia

SAT, MARCH 19, 2016 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINION

BY KLAUS DORING

Yes, in my opinion, it’s indeed amazing and is actually taking my breath away. Five years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, India and China have still embraced nuclear power. Other countries in the region also want to build more plants – even in high-risk areas prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. GRABE.

When Sun Qin talks about the future of nuclear power, his eyes light-up. In China alone, there are 31 nuclear power plants and another 24 are under construction, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Now, the president of the China’s National Nuclear Corporation wants (CNNC) wants to build 30 additional nuclear power stations – not only in China, but also in the neighboring states along the so-called “New Silk Road.” CNNC has already exported six reactors abroad, but the Chinese want to expand further.

“We face very strong competition in the international nuclear market,” says Sun Qin, adding that “countries like Russia, South Korea, Japan and the United States are all exploring the global nuclear market aggressively.”

Five years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and thirty years after Chernobyl, the nuclear industry, in particular in China, is on the upswing.

China: on track to becoming number 1?

Following the Fukushima disaster, China’s government initially suspended the construction of additional nuclear power plants. Instead, comprehensive security policies were adopted. But in the autumn of 2012, Beijing lifted the moratorium on future development – and since then, has pursued a more ambitious nuclear program.

What China’s nuclear industry wants to expand – also internationally -is making me breathless. China needs to restructure its massive energy sector. Currently, the country produces some two-thirds of its total energy from outdated coal power plants. The Chinese people complain of air pollution and other environmental damage, which is why the government in Beijing will shut down about 1,000 coal plants by the end of this year.

Nuclear power, on the other hand, is considered a relatively “clean” alternative to coal. In daily congressional meetings, the Communist Party has been discussing plans for a massive expansion of nuclear energy. By 2030, a total of 110 nuclear power plants will be in operation.

With this, China would overtake the US as the country with the most nuclear power plants connected to the grid. German Greenpeace nuclear expert Heinz Smital views the speed at which the reactors are being developed as problematic: “The Chinese safety authorities do not have the capacity to examine the buildings properly,” said Smital. “They will likely wave things through, rubber-stamp everything and not mess with the state-run construction consortium. There is a big security risk.” Indeed, there is! Who on earth seems to care?

India’s economy grows at a rate of about six percent per annum. But its ailing energy infrastructure inhibits economic development. Large areas of the country suffer from regular blackouts and obsolete infrastructure. Like China, India’s renewable energy sector needs to be massively expanded. But the country’s political elite are convinced that India must exhaust all possibilities of electricity. Therefore, Delhi is planning a far-reaching expansion of nuclear power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to build dozens of new reactors in the next 15 years.

The technical know-how is sourced internationally. Over the past decade, India has reached civil nuclear agreements with the United States, Canada, France and Russia. 21 nuclear power plants are already in operation. Two of the plants are in Kudankulam and Kalpakkam, located on the southeast coast of the country – areas prone to tsunamis. In December 2006, a tsunami hit Kalpakkam causing extensive damage, but not to the nuclear power plant, according to its operator.

Let’s take a look to Pakistan: Do you remember several reactors in flood-prone areas? India’s neighbor, Pakistan, is also struggling with blackouts and outdated infrastructure. The country currently operates three small reactors, with the nuclear plant west of Karachi – located in a flood-prone area – being one of the oldest in the world.

The remaining two reactors are situated in an earthquake-prone area some 300 kilometers (186.4 miles) south of the capital Islamabad. The government is planning to build two other reactors in the same area. According to Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission, Islamabad wants to build a total of seven new reactors by 2030 – with assistance from China.

Although South Korea is about the size of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), the country boasts 25 active nuclear plants. Three additional ones are under construction, while two others are set to be completed by 2029. South Koreans are becoming increasingly skeptical about nuclear energy – and not just because of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. In 2012 and 2013, a scandal related to the use of fake safety certificates rocked the country’s nuclear industry lobby. State-owned (KHNP) had thousands of small components featuring falsified certificates fitted into the country’s nuclear plants. As it turns out, large amounts of bribe money changed hands between KHNP employees, construction firms and politicians.

This led not only to Korean media speaking of a “nuclear mafia,” but also to a massive drop in the approval ratings for nuclear energy – from 70 percent before the Fukushima disaster to 35 percent. In spite of this, Seoul is sticking to its plans to expand the use of nuclear power in the East Asian country.

In Southeast Asia, the production of nuclear energy is a hotly debated issue. For instance, while Vietnam wants Russian assistance to build eight nuclear plants, Hanoi has yet to make a final decision. Thailand is planning to build five reactors, whereas Malaysia and the Philippines each want a nuclear reactor to go online.

Despite protests, the South Korean government wants to expand the use of nuclear energy

However, it’s unclear whether such plans will ever see the light of day. “It will be very difficult to find people willing to invest billions of dollars in this area, especially given the likelihood of another accident taking place in another part of the world,” said Greenpeace nuclear expert Smital.

“The costs related to the production of nuclear energy are only likely to increase, whereas renewable energy is becoming increasingly affordable. This is why the free market can only barely manage to finance nuclear plants at the moment,” Smital added.

Nuclear energy is keep on booming in Asia. Where are the disadvantages and benefits for us and our future generations? Somehow, I feel scared. And not only me. You too?

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