Nuclear Powerplant in the Philippines in the 21st Century:

Finding a Solution to the 3 Decades of High Cost of Energy

ABSTRACT: The objective of this research is to find out how can a Nuclear Powerplant
resolve the power problems, and high cost energy that has been tormenting the Filipino
people for the past 30 years. This study is mainly focused on the local context. The research
also includes a general information about what is a Nuclear Reactor, how does it work,
and what are the problems that the government must face in order to build one. It also
includes the historical background about the power shortages, energy problems, and the
failure of the very first Nuclear Powerplant in the country.

Jomari S. Pallorina, 10:30-1:30PM Friday, CEA420, BSEE 1-2, Department of Electrical

Engineering, College of Engineering, Polytechnic University of the Philippines. To be
presented on October 4, 2019 at CEA404, College of Engineering, Polytechnic University
of the Philippines.

Introduction

Over 30 years ago, the world suffered from energy shortages because of the oil crisis
that is caused by the wars in the Middle East (The ASEAN Post, 2019). Countries that are
dependent on the oil of the Middle East, including the Philippines that is by that time is
under the Marcos regime, must shift into another reliable source of energy, and this is no
other than nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy was introduced to the world as a great horror after the Hiroshima and
Nagasaki bombing, but after the war, nuclear energy promised to be a peaceful spin-off of
the new technology and help the world get back on its feet (Kurzgesagt, 2015). In 1973
Ferdinand Marcos built a US$2.3 Billion Nuclear Reactor in Morong, Bataan in response
to the oil crisis, the plant promises to generate a lot of power, enough to solve the power
shortages that will be caused by the oil crisis. Shortly after the historical People Power
Revolution, President Marcos overthrown, in 1986, the Chernobyl disaster happened, and
the newly elected president, Cory Aquino, decided not to continue the operation of the
Plant, after that, power shortages started to occur, the Philippines became dark during the
early years of the Aquino administration (The ASEAN Post, 2019).
For over 30 years, the Philippines is still facing the same problem, and the
developments done by the last administrations are still, obviously, not enough. This raises
the question, “What if the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant continued its operation? Would it
make the Philippines different right now?". The Filipinos have suffered enough and by this
time, energy problems shouldn't be a problem at all, and rather than questioning the past,
real solutions must be presented. What if the Philippines build a nuclear reactor right now?

The main objective of this study is to know what is a Nuclear Reactor, how does it
work, what are the problems that the administration has to face if they decided to build one,
what are the possibilities that it could bring to the Philippines, and to give a better insight
on the current state of the Philippines in terms of power/energy related problems. As
Aquinos said, the Filipinos are really worth dying for, but as an engineer, these kinds of
problems has a very huge impact on the country, and dying isn’t just enough, solutions has
to be presented, actions has to take place, and that is what this study is aiming for.

Methodology

Before proceeding to the construction of a nuclear power plant, it is important to have

a knowledge first on how it works. There are several types of nuclear reactors, each has a
different characteristic, different way to operate, and different costs. But in this particular
study, the researcher chooses to focus on the Light-Water Reactor (LWR) because it is the
cheapest, simplest and the most available type of reactor (Kurzgesagt, 2015), and this type
of reactor was also used in the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. (DOE, 2018).

During the 1970’s, oil’s market value skyrocketed into a very high price because of
the war in the Middle East, forcing different countries to find another source of energy, and
this was the time when nuclear reactors became prevalent, more than half of the nuclear
reactors in the world were built between 1970 and 1985 (Kurzgesagt, 2015). But which
type of reactor to build, given how many different types there were to choose from? A
surprising type of reactor was chosen by many countries, the Light-Water Reactor. It
wasn’t that innovative, and isn’t really attractive to scientists, but not like other type of
reactors, this type wasn’t terribly expensive. It its available, it works and its cheap, and the
science behind this underdog candidate is surprisingly simple. In a simplified explanation
of Zarubin (2016), an LWR is just simply heating the water using a synthetic chain reaction.
Nuclear fission releases more energy that any chemical reaction could. Heavy elements
with a very low stability such as Uranium-235 gets bombarded with neutrons, making it
unstable, and splits into two lighter elements, this process also releases more neutrons that
triggers the nearby Uranium atoms making a chain reaction, and this continuous process
also releases energy in the form of radiation that heats up the water around it, making the
turbines work, then the energy will be stored as an electrical energy and this will be the
energy that will be distributed throughout a community (Zarubin, 2019).

Now that the process on how a nuclear reactor works has already explained, the next
problem is how could it be implemented in the Philippines. In a report of Philippine Star
(2018) about the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, Philippine senator Joseph
Victor said that it is worth considering, according to him, aside from infrastructures, high
cost energy is one of the weakness of the Philippine economy (DOE, 2018). In a recent
study that was conducted by the PHIVOLCS, the location where the Bataan Nuclear Power
Plant stands is declared to be safe (DOE, 2018). In December, this year, an International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be conducting an eight-day mission to review the
country's infrastructure development for nuclear power. (The ASEAN Post, 2019). And the
current president, Rodrigo Duterte, said that the administration is eyeing for the possibility
of construction of a nuclear reactor in the Philippines, but in the main project of the admin
called “Build, build, build”, construction of a nuclear power plant wasn’t included. (The
ASEAN Post, 2019)

According to the Department of Energy (2018), Filipinos are currently charged 5

pesos per kilowatt hour based on the current average power generation rate in the country,
but nuclear power will cost only P1.80 to P2.50 per kWh. Looking at these figures gives
an idea on how nuclear power plants would significantly decrease the price of energy
consumption, however, implementing this project has a lot of strings attached.

The LWR became the prevalent type of reactor because it is simple and cheap,
however, it is neither the safest, most efficient, nor technologically elegant type of reactor
(Zarubin, 2019). And comparing it to the technology that the world has today, it can be
identified as an old, and outdated type of technology, and all of that downsides dragged it
down, and now, the Philippines is facing a Dilemma between constructing an outdated
nuclear power plant that could lessen the current average power generation rate in the
country, or just rely on the more advanced and modern technology that the world currently
has.

Results and Discussions

In the study of the possibility of having a nuclear power plant in the Philippines,
the Department of Energy concluded that having a nuclear power plant in the country
lessens the value of kilowatt per hour based on the average power generation rate at more
than the half of its original value. This decrease in energy cost will boost the country’s
economy and will cut down the high electric bills of Filipino people who suffered the high
energy cost for the past three decades.

It is also concluded that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant has also a possibility of
revival after PhiVolcs announced that the place where the plant stands is now safe from
earthquake and volcanic eruptions. The Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR)
was conducted at the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant after an invitation by the Philippines
government. Currently, the Philippines is the only country in ASEAN with a completed
nuclear power plant. The IAEA noted that the Philippines is following a systematic
approach to finalise its nuclear power strategy and complete the associated infrastructure
development. Cusi said results from the INIR mission will help the Philippines focus its
efforts on the identified gaps, accelerate the legislative process and prepare the national
decision (The ASEAN Post, 2019).

The research also concludes that the light water reactor is a type of thermal- neutron
reactor that utilizes normal water as opposed to heavy water, a form of water that contains
a larger amount of the hydrogen isotope deuterium. Normal water that contains the
hydrogen-1 isotope called protium. Light water reactors use water as both and a coolant
method and a neutron moderator that reduces the speed of fast-moving neutrons. Light
water reactors produce heat by controlled nuclear fission. There are several different vital
parts of light water reactors that make the generation of nuclear energy possible.

According to Zarubin (2016), the nuclear reactions take place in the nuclear reactor
core, where the nuclear fuel components are contained. The core is made of nuclear fuel
rods that are pencil thin and are about 3.7 m long. These rods are grouped by the hundreds
in bundles called fuel assemblies and are filled with pellets of uranium or uranium oxide.
Control rods are lowered into the core and are filled with pellets of substances such as
hafnium or cadmium that are responsible for capturing neutrons. The neutrons that are
absorbed by the control rods cannot take part in the chain reaction, however, when the
control rods are raised out of the core, more neutrons strike the fissile U-235 nuclei in
nearby fuel rods, and the chain reaction intensifies as the control rods are out of the way.
All these components are enclosed in a water-filled steel pressure vessel, called the reactor
vessel. The heat generated by controlled nuclear fission turns the water into steam, which
drives the power- generating turbines. After the steam flows through the turbines, the steam
turns back into water in the condenser.

Comparing this reactor to other nuclear reactors, the Light Water Reactor is still the
simplest type and the easiest to obtain for a third world country like the Philippines. But
because of its cheap value, a lot of downsides dragged it down too. Technologically
speaking, it is not up to date, there are a lot of technological advancements that took place
after the discovery of the LWR and constructing it in the modern world is a huge dilemma
to the administration.

The researcher concludes that the Philippines is facing a dilemma in whether to build
a nuclear power plant to solve a lot of economic problems, but might lose the chance to
gain more advanced and more efficient reliable source of energy, or just continue the three
decade of high energy cost for the possibility of a more efficient energy source, and just
left the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as a tourist spot for the rest of its existence.

Summary

In 1973, Marcos administration built a nuclear reactor in response to the oil crisis
during that time. The reactor that the power plant used is the Light Water Reactor, the
simplest, cheapest and the most available reactor during that time, it uses a simple system
where a synthetic chain reaction turns water into steam that goes into the turbine,
generating cheaper electricity that will be used by the country. Years later, Marcos
overthrown, the plant never operated, and the Philippines experienced a lot of power
shortages.

PhilVolcs declared that the place where the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is located is
now safe from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Local and international governments
and the ASEAN saw a possibility of the revival of the Plant. Recently, Philippines invited
a research team to conduct an eight-day mission to study the old power plant of Bataan.

Different studies have conducted, and found out that building a nuclear reactor will
cut down the energy cost in half, boosting the economy and making the lives of the Filipino
people better after the power crises they suffered since the 1980’s. As the time passes,
newer and better technologies have been discovered, rendering the Light Water Reactor an
old and outdated technology. This placed the Philippines into a dilemma between
continuing the revival of the plant, or just rely on the newer available technology.
Acknowledgements

I would like to express sincere gratitude to my parents who continued their support
and encouragement: Jun Mar and Joelito Pallorina. I offer my sincere appreciation for all
the devices that you provided in order to finish this research

My completion of this could not have been accomplished without the support of my
dorm mates, Irene and Gdan; and my classmates. I also want to give a heartfelt gratitude to
our course instructor, Engr. Florence Joie Lacsa for making this research happen and
teaching us the purpose of making a research.

And finally, to my loving, caring, and supportive mother, Marites Pallorina, who is
currently working abroad as a domestic helper. I wanted to give all my appreciation for all
the efforts that you’ve done, you’ve been doing, and you’ll be doing for me to reach my
dream to be an engineer. Thanks for being the inspiration that motivated me to give all my
best to this research. There’s no word that can represent how grateful I am.

References

ASEAN Post Team. (2019, March 22). Philippines considering nuclear energy.
Retrieved from https://theaseanpost.com/article/philippines-considering-
nuclear-energy.

Department of Energy (2016). Revival of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant urged once
again. Retrieved from https://www.doe.gov.ph/energist/revival-bataan-
nuclear-power-plant-urged-once-again

Department of Energy (2018). Power problems. Retrieved from

https://www.doe.gov.ph/energist/power-problems

Kurzgesagt (2015). Nuclear Energy Explained: How does it work? 1/3. Retrieved
from https://kurzgesagt.org/portfolio/nuclear-energy-explained/

Macalister, T. (2011, March 3). Background: What caused the 1970s oil price shock?
Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/mar/03/1970s-oil-price-
shock.

PPN (April 2, 2018). Revival of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant urged once again.
Power Philippines News. Retrieved from
http://powerphilippines.com/2018/04/02/revival-bataan-nuclear-power-
plant-urged-again/

Suarez, D. (2018, April 26). Power Problems. Retrieved from

http://www.manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/over-sight-by-danilo-
suarez/264131/power-problems.html.

Zarubin, B. (2016, March 7). Introduction to Light Water Reactors. Retrieved from
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/zarubin1/.

Jomari S. Pallorina