ASEAN Countries Should Consider Nuclear Power As Alternative Energy Source

By Zarul Effendi Razali KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- Asean countries should consider nuclear power as an alternative energy source to catch up with the high speed of economic and social growth in the region. Rosatom International Business Department Director Nikolay Drozdov said there is a need to develop a number of power sources in order to support this growth. "If you have an unbalanced system, with the domination of just one type of energy source, it will be a risk to the whole system. You need to diversify. "Nuclear power is one effective solution and among the cheapest to secure the risk and provide the diversification in power sources," he told Bernama. He said developing nuclear power will also increase the level of science and industry as well as the generation culture, as the facility is highly regarded within the high technology sector. "There are two reasons to consider nuclear power. First, countries located in Southeast Asia are demonstrating rapid economic and social growth. To support these, you need a number of power sources. Drozdov said that despite the capital expenses in the construction of nuclear power plants, which is higher than that of coal and gas, the facility offered cheaper operational expenses by about 10 per cent. "In Iran (for example), after the commissioning of the bush one (nuclear plant) unit, they have saved about 2.8 billion litres of fuel consumption annually," he added. He said Malaysia and other countries have to first determine the type of nuclear projects to be developed before estimating the cost-saving that can be derived. Rosatom is the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation. It has an almost 70-year expertise in the nuclear field and is the global leader in technologies and competencies offering cutting-edge industry solutions. At the same time, the organsiation also works on a global scale to provide comprehensive nuclear services that range from uranium enrichment to nuclear waste treatment. Drozdov was recently in Malaysia as a plenary speaker at the 6th Annual Nuclear Power Asia (NPA) conference. -- BERNAMA