Govts undeterred by Japanese incident, determined to carry on
Ravi Velloor Straits Times 16 Mar 11;
NEW DELHI: As Japanese engineers in Fukushima work to contain the worst nuclear incident in three decades, Asia, the region with the world's most frenetic nuclear reactor building programme, seems determined to ride out the storm and carry on.
Indeed, it may have little choice in the matter.
From Manila to New Delhi, governments had been increasingly looking to nuclear power as a solution to cut dependence on fossil fuels and the pressure to reduce carbon-emitting fuels that damage the environment.
Little wonder that most of the 155 reactors planned or being built are in Asia.
Although there is no nuclear power plant operating in Asean, almost every member, with the exception of oil rich Brunei and tiny Laos, are pondering the merits of adding nuclear power to the energy grid.
Vietnam plans eight nuclear power plants by 2030, producing as much as 16,000MW of power. Indonesia plans four plants producing 6,000MW by 2025.
For many neighbouring nations, there is nothing more worrisome than an accident in a future nuclear plant on the main island of Java, especially in seasons when the wind is blowing northwards.
The meltdown at Fukushima has come as a nightmare for national leaders and economic planners, who now have to factor in additional safeguards. They also have to assuage mounting concerns among a leery public who remain to be convinced about the merits - and safety - of nuclear power.
In Europe as well as the United States, calls have been made for governments to halt the expansion of nuclear power plants. Germany has ordered a provisional shutdown of some of its nuclear reactors until a three-month review is completed, and Switzerland has already put a halt to its plans.
Yet, with energy consumption growing apace, Asian governments cannot rule out the nuclear option, however dangerous it may seem.
Yesterday, Malaysia, which is eyeing its first nuclear plant by 2021, said the disaster in Fukushima will not affect the country's plans. But Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Peter Chin, in a tilt to public sentiment, said: 'The government will not do it secretly without informing the public.'
Indonesian legislator Satya Yudha, from Parliament's Commission VII, which looks at energy issues, said the government should not 'write off' nuclear energy because of Japan.
'Sooner or later, we will need it,' he said. 'The government's task is to look at diversifying energy sources because without secure energy supply we cannot advance. In the meantime, we need to educate people properly about nuclear energy.'
Besides, said Mr Ferhat Aziz, a spokesman for the Indonesian National Nuclear Energy Agency, Indonesia is better prepared today than Japan and South Korea were at the start of their civilian nuclear energy programmes.
He told The Straits Times that the agency was looking closely at possible plant locations. These include Bangka-Belitung province off the east coast of Sumatra, the island of Kalimantan and the Muria Peninsula on the northern coast of Central Java.
In India, which has announced plans to spend some US$175 billion (S$225 billion) on building nuclear plants over the next 20 years, the Nuclear Power Corp (NPC) is reviewing safety at its 20 nuclear plants across the country. 'This event will be a big dampener for our programme,' says Mr Shreyans Jain, head of the NPC.
China is set to add 10 to 27 nuclear reactors over the next five years. 'China has to learn lessons from the accident in Japan but will not give up on nuclear energy,' says Mr Zhang Lijun, China's vice-minister for environment.
Countries such as China and India may have little choice. World energy consumption - still hugely dependent on fossil fuels - is rising by the day. The International Energy Agency says Asean's energy demand is going up at a rate of 3.3 per cent a year, compared with 2.5 per cent elsewhere.
Alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass can fill only so much of the gap and oil wells are drying up faster than the world can discover new sources.
It is for this reason that no significant nation in the world can really write off nuclear energy. But tell that to the man in the street. This week, a Malaysian microblogger summed up the scepticism that many Asians feel about the arguments for nuclear energy. 'I am quite happy to see Malaysia build a nuclear power plant,' he wrote on Twitter, 'as long as it is built next to the prime minister's house.'
With Lynn Lee in Jakarta, Teo Cheng Wee in Kuala Lumpur, Grace Ng in Beijing, and Nirmala Ganapathy in New Delhi
Indonesia unfazed by Japan nuclear crisis
Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post 15 Mar 11;
Concerns over a possible nuclear disaster in Japan should not deter Indonesia from its ambition to build a nuclear power plant in the future, an official at the country’s atomic agency said.
Hudi Hastowo, head of the National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan), told The Jakarta Post that using nuclear energy was one of the best solutions to address the country’s power shortage issue. He played down the safety issue that anti-nuclear activists have been voicing, saying that it would be safe to have one.
“We should think 20 years ahead. What will we do then to fulfill the electricity demand?” he added.
Indonesia, located in the Ring of Fire and therefore prone to massive earthquakes that can trigger tsunamis, has been planning to build a nuclear power plant, although locals and environmental activists oppose the plan.
The country experiences frequent electricity shortages characterized by rolling blackouts. To address the problem, the government launched the first 10,000-megawatt power program, with all proposed power plants to be coal-fired.
Chalid Muhammad from environmental NGO Indonesia Green Institute said that the government should stop the plan to build the reactor because 83 percent of Indonesia’s area was prone to disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis.
“The government should focus on building decentralized power plants that use renewable energy sources, such as microhydro and geothermal plants. Those small-scale plants can fulfill the electricity demand and are a lot safer compared to larger sized plants,” he said.
Hudi argued, however, that the government could not use only one or two energy sources, saying it needed to expand beyond these, emphasizing that nuclear energy could produce a large amount of electricity supply.
“People always say that we should use renewable energy sources such as geothermal energy, but to what extent can it meet the demand? We will use all kinds of energy sources, we need to diversify,” he insisted.
The government has conducted several feasibility studies on nuclear power plants, including those used in South Korea, which uses the Pressurized Water Reactor system.
The reactors used in the Fukushima Daiichi Plant in the northeast of Tokyo, Japan, is the Boiling Water Reactor, which is another type of light water reactor. The plant first began operation in October 1970 and was originally scheduled to be shut in February but had its operation license extended for another 10 years. Hudi said that the problem in Japan’s reactor was not caused by low-level technology, but the catastrophic tsunami following the 8.9-magnitude earthquake last Friday.
“The facility stopped operation when the earthquake hit. But the tsunami swept the cooling system away so the release of the residual heat inside the reactor could not be stopped as planned,” he said.
He assured that the technology used in an Indonesian nuclear plant would be the most up to date, adding that a safe location played an important role in the plant’s security. “If we use state-of-the art technology but place it in a dangerous location, the facility will face the same risk as a less sophisticated one. We have to find a location that suits international requirements, including one that is safe from tsunamis and other natural elements,” he said.
The government has been conducting a land analysis to find the best location for the plant. Among the location options are Muria Peninsula in East Java and Bangka Belitung province.
“Muria is just one of many options. If the people reject the facility, we can’t force the plan,” Hudi said.
After the nuclear crisis in Japan, environmental NGOs in France and Germany have been holding anti-nuclear rallies, saying that what happened in Japan could also happen in their countries too.
