No stone will be left unturned and critical issues will be studied assiduously before the Government makes any decision on nuclear energy for Singapore.
Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran yesterday took pains to assure Singaporeans after MPs, such as Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang) and Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), asked about the Government’s pre-feasibility study on nuclear energy and wanted to know if it would be shelved in the light of the nuclear plant crisis in Japan.
He said the study - a preliminary step to better understand nuclear energy - will go on and, even on its completion, Singapore will be a long way from making any decision on nuclear energy.
He added that ‘what happened in Fukushima makes it all the more important that we conduct such a study, and build our knowledge and understanding of nuclear energy’.
Mr Iswaran listed a series of issues that would be studied, including essential elements for the safe operation of a nuclear plant, protection against terrorist attacks, radiation protection and emergency planning.
He also pointed out that several countries in the region, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, have announced plans for nuclear energy.’Therefore, even if we do not proceed with nuclear energy for Singapore, we need to understand its implications for the region, and for us in Singapore,’ he said.
Emphasising the need for Singapore scientists and engineers to know how nuclear technology works, he added: ‘Only then can we work constructively with our Asean partners and other partners to ensure that nuclear energy, whenever and wherever it is deployed in this region, is done so in a safe and secure manner.’
At an energy conference last November, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong identified nuclear power as ‘an important part of the solution to mankind’s energy problems’.
He said Singapore was building up its capabilities now as the nuclear option was one that it ‘cannot afford to miss’.
He also said the MTI was carrying out a pre-feasibility study on nuclear power in Singapore, but it would be a long time before any decision was made.
Experts in the nuclear and energy field agree with the Government’s position.
‘Nuclear energy is a new science as far as Singapore is concerned. It is important to conduct a feasibility study from a domestic standpoint and to assess the impact of other nuclear plants that may be built in the region,’ said Mr Ravi Krishnaswamy, vice-president of consultancy Frost & Sullivan’s Asia-Pacific energy and power systems practice.
He said that conducting a feasibility study did not mean Singapore had chosen nuclear energy.
‘Singapore does not sit on any fault lines and is insulated from natural disasters. But other things need to be looked at, for instance, the lack of space in the need of evacuation. The Government will look at all the risks, then decide.’
Others like energy specialist Stefan Adams, an associate professor of material science at the National University of Singapore, said it would take at least a year for the study to be completed and up to a decade before anything could be built.
‘We are in the very initial stages. If a decision is made, you still need to find a suitable place, negotiate with countries to deliver nuclear fuel and construct the plant,’ he said.
