THE Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI) is pushing for the full rehabilitation and use of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which it believes will quickly solve the country’s energy requirements.
CCPI President Jose Luis Yulo Jr. said the BNPP can be restored and functional for $1 billion and that the Slovenian government, which uses nuclear-power plants of the same design, are on standby and willing to assist when called upon.
“Slovenia is offering to host our people. They said to rehabilitate our plant will take 10 percent to 15 percent of the cost of a new plant, so it is cheaper to just rehabilitate what you have. Since it is a sister clone, they know how to man it. They can teach us,” Yulo said.
He added that experts and officials from Slovenia are willing to assist in providing training in the construction and management of nuclear-power plants.
Yulo, who served as Slovenia’s honorary consul to the Philippines for 18 years, said developed countries are using nuclear energy and developing countries are now starting to understand its advantages.
He said that because of the unstable and volatile cost of fossil fuel, the country should start seriously considering the use of nuclear energy.
Yulo said the Philippines is being hindered by its notions of a Fukushima incident happening and looking plainly at the high capital needed for the venture.
“While nuclear-power plants are capital intensive, in the long run it produces the cheapest electricity compared to oil-fired power plants, gas-, or coal-fired power plants. Nuclear-power plants provide low-cost, predictable power at stable prices,” he said.
Yulo also clarified that, by pushing for nuclear power, the chamber is not averse in the country using renewable energy.
“We are not saying no to these other clean energy. But what we are saying is that nuclear is also there, so let us not say no just because we have notions about it,” Yulo said, while adding that nuclear energy is also the most efficient.
The CCPI position is supported by Philippine LaRouche Society (PLS), an organization that advocates government policies that are in the true spirit of the Philippine constitution. The PLS said that it will draft a list of recommendations to President Rodrigo Duterte which will include the BNPP’s full utilization.
PLS Chairman Antonio Valdes said nuclear-power plants will fast track the country’s industrialization, while adding that one nuclear-power plant can service the Philippines for 50 years.
“If we want to industrialize and if we want to provide jobs, you need a source of energy that is going to be cheaper, reliable and cleaner. The only way you can do that quickly is going to nuclear energy, because within 18 months to one year, you will have that power plant running and it will bring down the average cost of electricity,” he added.
Valdes said for the government to properly develop the country’s infrastructure, it must first address the current electricity demand.
The CCPI, which has repositioned itself as the chamber of history, traces its roots to 1886, when Queen Regent Maria Cristina issued a Royal Decree for its creation.