Philippines: 5 provinces shortlisted as candidates for nuclear power plants

Manila: The Department of Energy (DOE) has identified five provinces as potential hosts for the country’s first commercial nuclear power plants, marking a major step in the government’s nuclear energy programme.

Energy Undersecretary Giovanni Carlo Bacordo identified the five provinces as follows:

The five candidate provinces emerged after initial assessments. It will be noted that these five provinces are not yet officially selected as final nuclear plant sites.

Site-selection studies and regulatory processes are still underway.

Bataan and Palawan each have two potential sites, while the other three provinces have one each, for a total of seven candidate locations.

The sites cleared preliminary desktop evaluations and field surveys by the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee.

The DOE said in February 2026 that it had finalised a seven-phase licensing roadmap and planned to begin accepting nuclear plant license applications within 2026.

The DOE revealed that the finalised roadmap is ready to be presented to parties interested to invest in nuclear power, as per the official Philippine News Agency.

The phases cover the following:

The framework was crafted during a February meeting attended by over 100 stakeholders, led by Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, Finance Undersecretary Catherine Fong, and Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Director Carlo Arcilla.

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the government plans to begin accepting nuclear plant license applications before 2026 is out.

The 5 provinces reportedly meet strict safety criteria aligned with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards:

The announcement advances the Marcos administration’s push to add nuclear power to the energy mix for greater security, lower electricity costs, and reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels.

The government targets an initial 1,200 megawatts of nuclear capacity online around 2032, with construction eyed to begin around 2028.

Longer-term goals include 1.4 gigawatts by 2038 and up to 4,800 MW by 2050.

This builds on years of preparatory work under the IAEA’s milestones approach.

The Philippines is establishing the institutions, regulatory framework, technical capacity, financing mechanisms, and public confidence.

In 2025, Republic Act 12305 created the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM) as an independent nuclear regulator.

A licensing roadmap was finalized earlier in 2026 to streamline approvals.

The mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, completed in the 1980s but never operated, remains part of the broader discussion, with nearby areas in Bataan among the shortlisted sites.

Officials stress that identifying potential locations is an early step and does not mean construction is imminent.

Further detailed studies, environmental assessments, public consultations, financing arrangements, and regulatory approvals will follow.

Bacordo emphasised that nuclear power requires building the full supporting ecosystem, not just deciding to construct a plant.

The development comes as the Philippines works to diversify its power supply amid rising demand and the global shift toward cleaner energy sources.

Residents in the five provinces can expect more information and engagement processes in the coming months as evaluations continue.

Officials said the bid to include nuclear energy among the country’s power sources aims to secure “a sustainable, high-growth future for the Filipino people.”

The government is looking at factors such as site safety, geology and seismicity, water availability, proximity to electricity demand, transmission infrastructure, environmental considerations and accessibility.

The DOE and private-sector partners are now moving toward more comprehensive site assessments.

Bataan remains the most prominent candidate because it already hosts the 621-MW Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was completed but never commissioned. The government is considering both the possible revival of Bataan and new nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs).

The Philippine government is targeting at least 1,200 MW of commercially operating nuclear capacity by 2032, potentially increasing to 4,800 MW by 2040.