MANILA, Philippines — An expert from the Russian State Atomic Corporation, Rosatom, said that nuclear energy is a wise investment for any nation, including the Philippines, if only for the huge benefits that it could mean for a country. Yury Minin, chief expert of Rosatom’s International Cooperation Department, cited the safeness of nuclear-based energy, which, in the Philippines, could be quite a foreign idea, despite having its own complete yet un-fueled nuclear plant during an interview at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City last Friday.
“Nuclear energy is a wise investment for any country, based on many concerns, whether it be economic or environmental,” Minin said through a translator.
“It’s a good investment,” he said, adding experts like him know that it is safe and efficient.
However, Minin, who is part of a seven-man delegation of Rosatom technical experts sent to the country as part of a Philippine-Russian Nuclear Power Forum, said that the feasibility of nuclear energy here is only his personal opinion. “Of course it’s an internal decision (of the Philippine government).”
On Saturday, the Rosatom experts took a look-see of the 30-year-old Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), an activity which they said is “in the framework of the forum.”
“It will be interesting to just have a look… since it is the first nuclear power plant to be built but not commissioned,” Minin bared. “We would like to see what the Philippines will show us.”
Asked if the foreign delegation would act in an advisory capacity for the Philippine government, the Rosatom chief expert shook his head. “The problem of reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is internal, it’s up to the Philippines,” he pointed out.
Considered one of the two energy superpowers in the world, Russia is at the other end of the spectrum when compared to the Philippines’ spot in the nuclear power totem pole. At least 16 percent of Russia’s total electricity generation is nuclear-based, with the figure expected to climb to 20 to 25 percent by the year 2030.
As for a possible investment in Philippines by Rosatom as far as nuclear plants are concerned, Minin said that there are different ways of financing the construction of such plants but the concrete mechanism for financing depends on the legislation of each country.
“Rosatom always follows the laws of the country where it wants to operate in,” he said.
Ellson Quismorio, Manila Bulletin
