... that was studied, convert it to a gas-fired plant, that was also studied. The result of the business model is it's not feasible...Manila (ANTARA News) - The conversion of the mothballed 600-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) to either coal or gas-fired power plant is no longer feasible, a government official said.
National Power Corp (Napocor) president Froilan Tampinco told reporters that studies have shown that it would be more expensive to convert BNPP than build a new plant entirely.
"There were studies made before on the conversion option for BNPP and they all turned out to be much more expensive. The options for conversion is to convert it into a coal plant, that was studied, convert it to a gas-fired plant, that was also studied. The result of the business model is it's not feasible," Tampinco said.
He said Napocor has yet to receive a new directive from the Energy Department on nuclear power development./PNA-0ANA
Government is cautious on nuclear energy for power in the light of the nuclear disaster which hit Japan in March following a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Tampinco said that if the present leadership are still interested to explore nuclear power as an option, it would be best to conduct a new study.
"Let?s invite new fresh study that will determine if present technologies are now better than what we had before and it would translate into a feasible project. Am not discounting that altogether but if I go by the previous studies before, around 20 years ago, it`s not feasible (to convert)," he said.
The government has already announced plans to realign the P100 million intended for the study on nuclear power development to other projects.
Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said the department would submit the proposal for budget realignment to Congress although a portion of the amount would still be spent for nuclear study.
"We want to use part of it for the fuel anti-smuggling, power rationalization, alternative fuels study and nuclear study," Almendras said.
Energy Undersecretary Jay Layug earlier said the department has no program for nuclear other than to study it.
"In fact, what we have done, due to the Fukushima incident, we`re thinking of reconsidering the study and see whether we should do other studies apart from nuclear," Layug said.
Government has already junked proposals to revive the mothballed plant due to safety concerns. (H-AK)
Editor: Ade P Marboen
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