Philippines Open to Selling Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as Korean Feasibility Study Awaits Completion
Key Takeaways
- •The Philippine government is weighing the sale of the never-operated Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to private developers, while keeping open the option of a state role in its development.
- •A Korea-funded feasibility study by Korea Hydro Nuclear Power, launched in January 2025 under a 2024 memorandum of understanding, has yielded 'positive' interim results but involves no construction commitment from the Philippines.
- •The plant, located at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan and completed in 1985, never began operations after the 1986 change of government and safety fears stemming from the Chernobyl disaster.
- •The Philippines is targeting 1,200 megawatts of initial nuclear capacity, rising to 2,400 MW by 2035 and 4,800 MW by 2050, with the BNPP's revival one of several routes under consideration.
- •Draft auction rules being developed by the Department of Energy envision the first nuclear-generated electricity delivered by 2038, with the study's completion and the rules' finalization as the immediate milestones shaping the program.
The Philippine government is open to selling the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) — mothballed for 40 years and never put into operation — to private investors, even as a South Korean feasibility study on the facility's potential revival awaits completion, the Department of Energy (DoE) said.
"One option for government is either to sell the property to a developer or (to take up a role in the development process)," Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Nuclear Supply Chain conference.
Ms. Garin cautioned, however, that the government is still evaluating whether the facility is technically viable and safe to operate.
The feasibility study being conducted by Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Co. Ltd. (KHNP), which started in January 2025, has so far yielded "positive" results, according to Ms. Garin.
"There are several options that they have given us but this is actually a feasibility study done by Korea. Paid for by Korea also, without commitment from the Philippines, whether to follow it or to construct what they advise," she said.
Because the study carries no construction commitment, its findings will inform — but not determine — the government's final decision on the plant's future.
In 2024, the DoE and KHNP signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct a comprehensive technical and economic feasibility study on the potential rehabilitation of the BNPP. The study also aims to explore other nuclear technologies and potential alternative sites for nuclear energy development.
The BNPP, located at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan, was completed in 1985 but never commenced operations, as the 1986 change of government and the fears generated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the former Soviet Union derailed its launch.
In 2022, the Philippines began reassessing the role of energy in its power mix, setting a target of 1,200 megawatts (MW) of initial capacity, rising to 2,400 MW by 2035 and 4,800 MW by 2050. With the study also weighing alternative sites and technologies, the BNPP's revival is one of several routes the government is considering to meet those goals.
The DoE is still developing auction rules for nuclear developers. "The target… is to set clear guidance on how nuclear will actually come," said Patrick T. Aquino, director of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau, describing the effort as fleshing out the Philippine Energy Plan, which positions nuclear power as a complement to renewable energy.
Mr. Aquino said the draft rules envision the first kilowatts of nuclear-generated electricity being delivered by 2038. The completion of the KHNP study and the finalization of the auction rules are the immediate milestones that will shape both the BNPP decision and the broader nuclear program.
Source: BusinessWorld Online. Reporting by Sheldeen Joy Talavera.
