BUO ang suporta ni Metro Pacific Investments Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Manuel V. Pangilinan sa nuclear power exploration sa bansa.
Sa Giga Summit on Sustainable Energy, Efficiency and Future Grid 2023, sinabi ni Pangilinan na pabor siya sa paggamit ng nuclear power dahil may kakayanan itong magbigay ng malalim na supply ng kuryente sa buong bansa nang hindi umaasa sa fossil fuel na isang paraan para makaiwas sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa pandaigdigang merkado.
“We are indeed in favor of exploring nuclear power,” pahayag ni MVP.
Sa ngayon, aniya, sinimulan na nila ang pre-feasibility na tatagal ng tatlong buwan habang ang deasibility draw list ay tatagal naman ng anim na buwan.
“We started pre-feasibility. It will take three months. The feasibility draw list will take another six months. We should engage Ultra Safe to conduct pre-feasibility study and will then lead to full blown feasibility study which we would like to share with the government and the participants of the industry itself,” paliwanag ni Pangilinan.
Aniya, mas maliit ang capacity ng micro modular reactor o MMR kumpara sa small modular reactors (SMR) na umaabot lamang sa 5 hanggang 15 megawatts na ideal para tugunan ang mga island provinces, island cities at data centers.
“There are two interesting benefits that it could bring. One is the impact of MMR to supply adequate and 24/7 power supply to hyperscale data centers. Another side of it is its impact on desalination plants. We have inadequate supply of water…this will solve water issue as well by adopting this nuclear solution,” dagdag pa ng negosyante.
Paglilinaw ni MVP, habang patuloy ang pag-aaral sa nuclear energy, dapat aniyang tandaan na ito ay isang tool lamang at ang tagumpay nito ay naka-depende sa tamang paggamit at regulasyon.
