IAEA: Asia Pacific may become driver of global nuclear power deployment

Several member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Asia Pacific region are already operating nuclear power plants and many other states aim to explore the potential for developing nuclear power programs, according to IAEA deputy director general, Mikhail Chudakov.

He was speaking at an energy conference, “The Prospects for Nuclear Power in the Asia Pacific Region”, that was held from August 30 to September 1 in Manila, Philippines. The conference was organized by the IAEA in collaboration with the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation and hosted by the Philippines’ Department of Energy. The event was attended bymore than 120 participants, including representatives from 14 member states.

Some of the issues that were covered in the conference included legal, regulatory and government support for nuclear power, the management of used fuel and radioactive waste, human resource development and capacity building, as well as other related technical issues.

Chudakov said the conference presented a unique opportunity for the member states to discuss the common challenges Asia Pacific countries are facing when it comes to the introduction of nuclear power and to display the best practices in addressing those challenges.

“This is one of the regions where nuclear is high on the agenda of a number of member states and may be one of the drivers for global nuclear power deployment in the coming years,” he said.

Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson, the Philippines’ ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the Vienna-based IAEA, said: “This conference is valuable from many perspectives, including the robust participation of NGOs and civil society representatives, whose support, after all, is a sine qua non to the formulation of a national position on the issue of nuclear power.”

There are currently 128 nuclear power reactors operable in five Southeast Asian countries plus Taiwan with a total generating capacity of more than 100 GWe (gigawatt electrical). There are also 40 units under construction and firm plans in place to build dozens more. In addition, there are about 56 research reactors in 14 countries of the region.