First Gen mulls over going into nuke power

Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is exploring the possibility of joining in the looming nuclear energy race in the Philippines.

First Gen vice president Jay Joel Soriano said they have looked at nuclear energy as well.

“I think when we looked at it, it’s almost unavoidable that we have to consider nuclear within our energy mix,” Soriano said, who is also the firm’s head of strategy and planning.

He said this at a forum organized by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies on Wednesday.

Soriano said the group, with its focus now more heavy on clean energy, was “keeping an eye” on developments in foreign markets.

“We’re particularly interested in finding an organization or a company that’s been able to make it commercially viable,” he told reporters following the event in Pasay City.

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First Gen is especially looking at small modular reactors, which have capacities ranging from 300 megawatts (MW) to 450 MW.

“If they’ve declared commercial operations, I think that’s the time when we can actively seek a dialogue to see whether it’s something we can bring into the country,” he added.

But Soriano clarified that there were no solid talks or discussions yet with potential partners, although they had conversations with prospects in the United States.