Greenpeace to BBM: Prioritize Renewable Energy, Not Nuclear

In a streamed press conference, president-elect Bongbong Marcos repeated his support of nuclear power, calling it the “cleanest and cheapest” energy source.

Reacting to this, Greenpeace Campaigner Khevin Yu said:

“We have yet to see detailed plans of the incoming administration for energy development, but recent statements that nuclear energy is the ‘cleanest and cheapest’ are not true and are dangerous assertions. Nuclear power is the most dangerous and most expensive way to produce electricity.”

Based on the 2020 report by Lazard, the Levelized Cost of Operating Energy (LCOE) of solar is around  $36 – $44 per Megawatts Hour (MWh), while nuclear costs $112-189 per MWh.

“Pursuing nuclear energy will be a distraction from achieving energy transition, as this could derail investments on renewable energy, undermine ongoing policy efforts, propel high electricity prices, and bring in risks of radioactive contamination and nuclear meltdown. It also fails to meet the basic technical, economic, social, and political criteria for a sustainable energy policy.”[2]

Yu also cites the worsening climate impacts and the country’s vulnerability to said impacts as critical risk factors for a potential nuclear disaster.

“Nuclear energy will be too risky to operate in the Philippines, considering that we are constantly battered by strong typhoons and other extreme weather events, which could easily compromise the operation of a nuclear power plant.”

“The incoming administration should also bare their plans for when a nuclear disaster happens. Experience from other countries have shown that nuclear disaster cleanup and rehabilitation can reach up to hundreds of billions of dollars. It’s clear that nuclear power does not make any economic sense and will hinder all efforts on economic recovery.”[3]

With around 800 Gigawatts of untapped renewable energy in the country, the priority of the new administration should be strengthening the Philippines’ transition to wind and solar energy, which will provide reliable and cheap electricity and benefit every Filipino.

Source: Greenpeace Philippines. You can read the original article here.