Philippines eyes a nuclear power revival as energy costs soar

“They said the Philippines may now begin the development of a nuclear facility. The country can start as long as it passes the regulatory laws for nuclear energy,” energy undersecretary Sharon Garin told ABS-CBN News.

Yet for the country’s energy experts, a quicker path to revisiting its nuclear energy plans lies in the revival of the Bataan plant, a US$2.3-billion facility built on a peninsula around 100km (62 miles) west of Manila during Ferdinand Marcos Snr’s regime.

Marcos Snr commissioned Westinghouse to build the plant, which was designed to produce 621 megawatts of electricity, despite questions surrounding price and safety concerns. Initially planned for completion in 1976 amid the Middle East oil embargo that had strained the Philippine economy, it was eventually completed in 1984.

The Bataan plant was mothballed following Marcos Snr’s ousting, plagued by corruption allegations and renewed nuclear fears after the Chernobyl disaster of 1986. The Philippines continues to pay between 40 million pesos (US$686,000) and 50 million pesos a year to maintain the plant.