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Many at WEF Feel Nuclear Energy is Still Relevant
June 13, 2011

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Despite the horrors of the nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima reactors in Japan, leaders attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia yesterday were loath to say 'no' to nuclear energy in Asia.

What is needed is just better technology and stricter regulation, said participants in one session of talks that included hedge fund managers, resource company chief executive officers (CEOs) and analysts.

Concerns over nuclear energy were raised after the crisis in Japan that saw the nuclear reactors exploding and engulfed in fire after the earthquake and tsunami in March.

However, many at the talks yesterday felt that energy from nuclear sources was necessary as a means of providing more power efficiently.

Evita Legowo, director-general of oil and gas at the Energy and Mining Ministry in Indonesia, said that it would need only 0.02 tonnes of uranium versus 1,230 tonnes of oil to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity.

Some countries like France, which has a large population and energy needs, rely on nuclear power as a practical energy source.

Though the general sentiment was that nuclear energy was still relevant, many also felt it was a case of 'not in my backyard', said the talk's moderator, John Foley, Asia bureau chief of Reuters' breaking news section.

Choo Chiau Beng, CEO of Singapore's Keppel Corporation, noted that it would be difficult for Singapore to find a site for a nuclear plant because if a worst-case scenario happened, such as a nuclear reactor explosion, people would have nowhere to evacuate to.

'It's not a choice for Singapore,' he said.

Indonesia, which had broached the idea of going nuclear, took a cautious approach.

In a separate discussion marking the opening ceremony of the WEF, the CEO of its state oil and gas company Pertamina, Karen Agustiawan, said the country would not consider nuclear energy in the next decade or two, but could look more closely at it after that.

She said Pertamina would look at tapping the diverse sources of energy in Indonesia first, such as renewable energy in the form of biofuels and geothermal energy.

'Focusing on looking at (other sources of energy) does not always mean the option of using nuclear. We are open to all options of energy sources,' she said.