ACEN wary of possible disruption from nuclear energy

ACEN Corp. is keeping a close watch on nuclear power as its potential entry could challenge coal’s dominance while influencing long-term capital allocation for renewables.

In a recent briefing, ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said the firm is not keen on joining the looming nuclear energy market.

But he said that the group was monitoring any development to ensure ACEN would not be caught off guard by possible implications.

“So even if we’re focused on renewables today, if nuclear [energy] happens tomorrow, that may have an impact on our investment thesis,” he told reporters.

“It’s going to take time, but we’re monitoring,” Francia added.

Asked about nuclear energy’s impact on the Philippines’ power mix, he said that it would affect supply from baseload power plants, particularly those fired up with coal.

Renewables, he said, could not compete yet in providing a round-the-clock supply—even with the growing presence of battery energy storage systems (BESS)—because of the costs.

Renewable energy developers use BESS because the technology allows them to store excess electricity and release it later when demand peaks.

But Francia said that renewables could be a “nice complement” to nuclear power to fill in the midmerit supply. He was referring to generating capacity that is harnessed to manage the fluctuating demand across the grid throughout the day.

“So it’s very complementary with nuclear. Without nuclear, there is pressure for renewables to go baseload, but it has to be able to compete against coal and or gas,” he said.

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Despite the aggressiveness of renewables producers, coal remains the dominant contributor to the local market’s power generation mix. It is the cheapest fuel and provides a reliable baseload capacity, especially needed amid the rising electricity demand.

Nuclear energy, meanwhile, is eyed to contribute to the local power generation mix by 2032.

In February, the government said it had completed the licensing and permitting flow chart across government agencies for nuclear plants. About 15 potential sites have been identified.

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is the leading player in the government’s anticipated nuclear energy market.

Meralco earlier received a $2.7 million grant from the United States Trade and Development Agency to finance its feasibility study on tapping small modular reactors, which have a capacity ranging from 300 to 450 megawatts.