Still a nuclear non-starter

IF the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) had never been built, it seems very unlikely that there would be any reason to have a conversation about nuclear power in the Philippines. Beyond the BNPP, nuclear power has never been seriously considered as an energy option, and as experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have repeatedly pointed out, the framework of native technical training, expertise, and above all, regulation is largely missing here.

All of this makes nuclear power, at least under present circumstances, a poor fit for the Philippines, in spite of its critical need to develop more electric generating capacity for the future. Nevertheless, the Philippines has a nuclear plant, one that has never operated as such but could be brought to operating condition. Whether it should be is a question whose answer has eluded the country for more than 30 years.