Nuclear energy could contribute to Asean regional grid: Panellist

Countries stand to benefit from sharing renewable energy, but collaboration key

- Cheryl Tan Correspondent

Nuclear energy, being a stable source of power, could potentially replace the use of fossil fuels like coal in South-east Asia's regional power grid, while providing electricity to off-grid communities.

Dr Victor Nian, the founding cochair of independent think-tank Centre for Strategic Energy and Resources, said on Oct 24 that the Asean grid would ideally allow countries in the region to benefit from sharing renewable energy. He was speaking at a roundtable on nuclear energy during the Singapore International Energy Week, being held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre until Oct 25.

But a major challenge to this stems from the intermittency of renewables, when electricity cannot be generated when the air is still and the sun does not shine.

Nuclear energy, which is generated by reactions that do not produce planet-warming emissions, could play a role in ensuring that countries have sufficient green electricity to share with one another, and for the electricity to be controllable, efficient, cost-effective and, most importantly, dispatchable, said Dr Nian.

The Asean region is currently a net exporter of coal, he noted. But as it moves away from the pollutive fossil fuel, it would need other generation sources, whether importing natural gas or increasing deployment of renewables.

But nuclear power, too, which "checks all the boxes" by being a low-carbon option that contributes a stable supply of energy, could come into the picture by supplying an immense amount of power for the Asean power grid, he noted.