Malaysia's first nuclear plant by 2021

Lester Kong, The Star 5 May 10;

KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has approved the setting up of a nuclear power plant which is slated to start operations in 2021.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui said his ministry had been given the go-ahead by the Economic Council to start identifying suitable sites.

Declining to reveal the possible sites and the total power deliverable, Chin said the nuclear plant needed to be built in an area with high power demand.

“Building of the first plant needs a lead time of at least 10 years. We need to look at the safety aspects, human resources and the location,” he told reporters after launching the first Carbon Neutral Conference on Sustainable Buildings in South-East Asia yesterday.

Chin said the International Atomic Energy Agency had the final say on whether the plant could be built.

“Technology know-how and providers may possibly come from either South Korea, China, France or Japan,” he added.

On the disposal of radioactive nuclear waste, he said the matter would be worked out with the technology provider at a later date.

Chin stressed that a nuclear plant was sorely needed to meet the country’s accelerating energy needs and ensured its energy security.

He pointed out that national energy demand topped out at 14,000 megawatts (MW) out of a maximum capacity of 23,000MW.

“We do not want a situation where we have to start buying our coal from foreign sources. Nuclear energy is the only viable option towards our long-term energy needs.

“Our energy mix is rather unhealthy. We are depending too much on coal and oil,” he said.

Chin stressed that despite nuclear energy’s astronomical start-up costs, it was more cost- and energy-efficient than dotting the country with coal-fired power plants.

“Our renewal energy sector is also very small. It has only a supplementary role,” he said.

On the political fallout from building a nuclear plant, Chin said the Government would be ready to explain it to the people on the need for one.

Malaysia plans nuclear power plant by 2021
Fierce resistance to proposal likely; former PM Mahathir in forefront of opposition to idea
S Jayasankaran, Business Times 5 May 10;

MALAYSIA has given the nod to a proposal to set up a nuclear power plant by 2021, Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water Peter Chin said yesterday.

Mr Chin said the plan had been approved by the Economic Council and his ministry had been tasked to start identifying suitable sites. The minister, however, declined to reveal possible sites or the megawatt capacity of the plant.

The announcement will make Malaysia the first country in South-east Asia to announce plans for a nuclear power plant, a potentially sensitive issue in a country where environmental activism is on the rise.

There could also be regional complications: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has pledged to keep the region nuclear- free, although it isn't clear if that concept includes nuclear power plants.

But the reasons are pretty straightforward. Malaysia relies on a combination of fossil fuels (gas and coal primarily) and hydro-power (6 per cent) to generate electricity.

But it is likely to become a net importer of fuel in five years and so needs to diversify its sources ahead of time, and nuclear power is the most cost- and fuel-efficient way to ensure energy security. Pressed to elaborate on possible sites, Mr Chin said the plant needed to be built in a high-power demand area. 'The building of the first plant needs a lead time of at least 10 years,' he told reporters.

'We need to look at the safety aspects, the human resource aspects and the location,' he said, adding that the final say was with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

'Nuclear energy is the only viable option towards meeting our long-term energy needs,' the minister said. 'Our energy mix is rather unhealthy - we are depending too much on coal and oil.'

Whether the government will proceed is another matter as the idea is likely to be fiercely resisted. And it has already got some formidable foes. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, for example, has come out against the idea.

Last May, national utility Tenaga Nasional said it intended to hire Korea's Electric Power Corporation to help it prepare a preliminary feasibility study for Malaysia's first nuclear power plant.

'Korea has about 20 plants,' Tenaga's nuclear unit head Zamzam Jaafar reportedly said then. 'They should be a good teacher for us.'

In response, Dr Mahathir posed a question on his blog: why did his administration expressly exclude nuclear energy as an option and allow only a mix of fuel oil, gas, coal or hydro power instead?

The former premier listed Russia's Chernobyl disaster as an example. 'Despite thousands of tons of concrete being poured into the site, the power plant is still emitting dangerous radiation,' he noted.

And he asked what would happen to the radioactive waste. 'The waste cannot be disposed of anywhere, not by burial in the ground nor dumping in the sea,' Dr Mahathir wrote in his blog.

'It can be reprocessed by certain countries only. This requires the dangerous material to be transported in special lead containers and carried by special ships. Most ports do not allow such ships to be berthed at their facilities.'

'The fact is that we do not know enough about radioactive nuclear material,' said Dr Mahathir.

'I think the authorities should rethink the idea of nuclear power plants. Scientists do not know enough about dealing with nuclear waste. They do not know enough about nuclear accidents and how to deal with them. Until we do, it is far better if Malaysia avoids using nuclear power.'

Indeed, Dr Mahathir's reasons are likely to resonate among Malaysian communities, many of whose residents now display a keen sense of activism where the environment in their neighbourhoods is concerned.

Example: federal government plans for an industrial-sized incinerator slated for the village of Broga in Selangor were shelved after its residents protested and then threatened to sue, citing fears of environmental contamination.