South Korea backs Philippines nuclear energy revival

South Korea has taken a formal step towards supporting the Philippines’ return to nuclear energy, with three major institutions signing an agreement to cooperate on future atomic power projects. The agreement links Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and Manila Electric Company, widely known as Meralco.

According to World Nuclear News, the memorandum of understanding was signed in Manila during an official visit by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. Senior executives from the three organisations formalised the pact in the presence of Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jeong-kwan and Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Maria Roque.

The Philippines is under growing pressure to cut its reliance on one of Southeast Asia’s most carbon intensive power systems while shielding itself from global fuel price volatility. Nuclear energy, once politically controversial, is now firmly back on the table as a strategic pillar of the country’s long term energy plan.

The agreement outlines wide ranging collaboration covering technology transfer, workforce development, project studies and financing structures for prospective nuclear plants in the Philippines. The partners intend to consult on the overall deployment of Korean reactor technology, design training programmes to build domestic expertise, and coordinate early stage activities such as site identification and community engagement. Financial backing mechanisms will also be explored.

According to KHNP, the structure represents a comprehensive model that combines its experience in constructing and operating reactors, the export credit and lending capacity of Korea Eximbank, and Meralco’s knowledge of the local electricity market. The intention is to provide a joined up pathway from feasibility analysis to funding and delivery.

Under the terms of the understanding, Korea Eximbank will examine potential financial packages for Meralco’s nuclear ventures, World Nuclear News reports. This includes tailored support for Korean firms that may participate in the projects, as well as efforts to cultivate a broader nuclear supply chain ecosystem linking Korean technical capabilities with Philippine industry networks.

Korea Eximbank President Hwang Ki-yeon described the agreement as a gateway for extending the bank’s expertise into the Philippine atomic energy sector. He indicated that the institution aims to act as a financial catalyst so that nuclear development in the Philippines could evolve into a future growth driver for Korean companies.

Meralco Chairman Manuel Pangilinan, for his part, said that pairing Korean engineering strengths with structured financing would bolster the Philippines’ energy resilience and underpin economic expansion.

The long shadow of Bataan

Nuclear power is not a new concept in the Philippines, World Nuclear News reports. In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, the government opted to construct a two unit facility in Bataan province. Work on the first reactor, a 621-MWe pressurised water unit supplied by Westinghouse Electric Corporation, began in 1976. The plant was completed in 1984 at a cost of $460mn.

Despite its completion, the facility never entered service. Financial constraints and safety fears, particularly concerning seismic risks, led authorities to withhold fuel loading. The plant has been maintained but remains idle. Over the decades, proposals have surfaced to either activate the reactor or convert the installation to a gas fired facility, yet none has materialised.

Momentum revived in October 2024 when KHNP signed a separate energy cooperation agreement with the Philippine Department of Energy to carry out a feasibility assessment on the potential commissioning of the dormant Bataan plant.

Policy direction had already shifted earlier. In March 2022, then President Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order endorsing the inclusion of nuclear power in the national energy mix, aligning it with economic, social, political and environmental considerations. The government has set out ambitions for its first operational nuclear capacity by 2032, targeting 1,200MW initially, expanding to 2,400MW by 2035 and reaching 4,800MW by 2050.

In October 2026, the Department of Energy published a comprehensive framework designed to accelerate nuclear integration. The policy grants the country’s inaugural commercially developed and operated atomic plant priority dispatch into the grid and access to long term contracting arrangements, along with incentives intended to improve investor certainty.

World Nuclear News also reports that energy Secretary Sharon Garin formalised the circular establishing the policy basis for what is termed the Pioneer NPP. The plant will be categorised as a baseload facility and assured dispatch priority in coordination with the Department of Energy, the Independent Market Operator and the System Operator, irrespective of the reactor technology selected. Officials argue that this approach is intended to create a competitive investment climate and lay the foundation for subsequent projects that would reinforce long term energy security.

Interest is not confined to large conventional reactors. In the previous month, the US Trade and Development Agency announced $2.7mn in technical assistance funding for Meralco PowerGen Corp. The support will enable the company, a subsidiary of Meralco, to assess advanced small modular reactor designs from US suppliers and draft an implementation roadmap for the country’s first SMR installation. The study will deliver a technical review of American developed SMR technologies and allow the company to prepare a shortlist of potential vendors for future procurement.

A carbon heavy system under pressure

The nuclear push is unfolding against the backdrop of a power system dominated by fossil fuels. According to OECD Economic Surveys: Philippines 2026, 62.5% of electricity is produced by 58 operating coal plants, with natural gas accounting for a further 14%. Only 21% of generation comes from low carbon sources, below the global average of 41%. Hydropower contributes 8.5%, geothermal 8.3%, solar 3% and wind 1%. Nuclear power is currently absent from the mix.

This carbon intensive structure resulted in record emissions of 76Mt of CO2e in 2024, representing roughly half of the nation’s total carbon dioxide output.

Reforms have begun to shift the balance. Between 2022 and 2024, renewable capacity expanded by 1.5GW, exceeding the 0.13-GW increase in fossil fuel capacity over the same period. Authorities are aiming for renewables to supply 35% of electricity by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

The technical potential is substantial. Onshore wind resources are estimated at 76GW, while offshore wind could reach 178GW. An ambitious deployment scenario involving 77GW of solar photovoltaics would require about 0.5% of national land area, potentially less if floating and rooftop installations are scaled up, according to World Bank estimates cited in the OECD survey. However, unlocking this capacity would demand comprehensive policy reforms.

The government’s 2024 Nuclear Energy Roadmap places atomic power within a broader decarbonisation and security strategy, with the first units envisaged by 2032. Alongside the possible rehabilitation of the 621-MW Bataan plant, small modular reactors are being examined as flexible options suited to the Philippines’ archipelagic geography.

Nuclear generation offers stable output compared with intermittent renewables and produces low operational carbon emissions. Yet it also raises concerns about severe accident risks, long term waste management and decommissioning costs. As the OECD Surveys notes, any nuclear development should be grounded in transparent, comprehensive life cycle cost benefit analysis, including construction expenses, waste storage, plant retirement and both direct and indirect subsidies across the production chain.

For Manila, the partnership with Seoul signals a determination to keep nuclear power firmly on the table. Whether this collaboration ultimately leads to concrete projects will depend on technical studies, financing terms, regulatory credibility and public acceptance.