The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking at the viability of nuclear energy as the Philippines intensifies its electrification program amid increasing population and strong economic growth.
DOE data showed that demand for electricity is expected to grow by an average of 5 percent per year until 2030, or around 126 terrawatthours (TWh) from the 2015 level of 82 TWh.
“To meet this requirement, we have to weigh all our options, with emphasis not just on meeting capacity requirements, but sustainability and environmental obligations as well,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said on Tuesday during the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Conference on the Prospects of Nuclear Power in the Asia-Pacific Region.
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The country’s power generation mix as of the end of 2015 is composed of 45 percent coal, 25 percent renewable, 23 percent natural gas and 7 percent oil.
The 2015 installed capacity mix is made up of 66 percent fossil fuels, 15 percent of which is in natural gas.
Cusi said the Philippines must have its own Energy Technology Roadmap to guide in the selection, adoption and innovation of technologies for its own use.“This will require us to look at all current and emerging technologies and the many factors needed to make best use of them,” he added.
A total of 18 IAEA member-states are participating in the three-day conference: Bangladesh, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, South Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines.
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