Nuke energy vital to Phl recovery
environment.
Collins discussed this during the third virtual economic briefing, organized by the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, Thursday, themed as “Towards a Resilient Post-Pandemic Recovery.”
She elucidated the topic “groundbreaking technology” in designing fully factory fabricated small modular reactors (SMR) — which are nuclear fission reactors that are smaller than conventional nuclear reactors, thus have greater scalability that can also be built in a factory and transported to a site for installation.
“Nuclear energy has one of the lowest carbon footprints, produces no harmful emissions during operation and all wastes are accounted for and managed during the entire life cycle of the plant and incorporated into the cost. NuScale’s operational flexibility can enable more renewables on the grid and help decarbonize industrial and transportation sectors — making the transition to a clean energy system faster,” according to Collins.
Headquartered in Tigard, Oregon, NuScale Power’s mission is to improve the quality of life for humankind by continuously improving nuclear power, as they are creating an energy source that is 100 percent carbon free and is as clean as wind and solar, or cleaner than any fossil fuel.
A United States (US)-based power company said clean energy, a known advantage of nuclear power, is one of the critical sectors that will play a major role in the Philippines’ post-pandemic recovery.
As bared by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, President Duterte has signed Executive Order (EO) 164 last 28 February to aid the country’s quest for energy security by looking into nuclear power as an energy source.
The EO, titled “Adopting a National Position for a Nuclear Energy Program,” will serve as the Philippines’ guide and framework as it looks at nuclear energy for dependable power, according to Cusi.
Coinciding with this, NuScale Power director for sales Cheryl Collins said to prepare and sustain economic growth, the Philippines will require a sustainable source of energy that includes renewables and nuclear energy as it transitions away from fossil fuels towards a more climate-friendly economic
Hybrid meeting
As this developed, Cusi convened a hybrid emergency meeting with downstream oil industry players for a collective strategy to ensure the sufficient supply of petroleum products amid steep global prices driven by the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
“Once again, the government and private sector must band together and make things happen. We are all consumers, and we must exhaust all available options to make things easier for the consuming public. I wanted to meet you so we could discuss our strategies, and of course, to listen to the concerns and suggestions of the industry players on how the DoE (Department of Energy) could help you during this time,” Secretary Cusi said in his opening remarks.
As part of government initiatives that would help defray fuel costs for the most vulnerable sectors of society, the Energy Secretary cited the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s “Pantawid Pasada Program” which provides fuel subsidies to qualified members of the public transport sector. The program has an allocated budget of P2.5 billion for FY2022.
He also mentioned the unprecedented P500 million program of the Department of Agriculture that would extend fuel discounts to farmers and fisherfolk.
Also during the forum, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez noted that the digital economy, supply chain, health, sustainable infrastructure and climate change are the critical sectors that will play a major role in the Philippines’ post-pandemic recovery.
Nuclear energy has one of the lowest carbon footprints, produces no harmful emissions during operation, and all wastes are accounted for and managed during the entire life cycle of the plant and incorporated into the cost.