Asia's resolve to seek nuclear energy remains unshaken, post Fukushima
The earthquake and resulting tsunami that damaged part of the Fukushima nuclear power plant a year ago tomorrow caught the Japanese and the rest of the world off-guard. Public panic was initially a reaction to the perceived threat caused by the release of a relatively small amount of radiation, which has since developed into a renewed resentment towards nuclear power that is questioning the wisdom of its continuity, let alone expansion.
Such reactions are a 'natural' result of exaggerated reporting by some media, feeding on a prevailing lack of knowledge and misconceptions about nuclear energy in the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl accident. It's therefore no wonder that the Fukushima incident overshadowed the loss of over 23,000 Japanese lives and the massive destruction of commercial, industrial, agricultural and residential areas, even though the nuclear accident did not cause any death, serious injury or major environmental damage.
A year after Fukushima, there is a wide misconception about its impact on the global nuclear energy industry, as many people believe the era of nuclear energy is over. Yet, that is far from the reality. With some qualifications, and excluding France, Russia and Britain, this is perhaps partly true for Europe and North America, which have not been nuclear-power enthusiasts, especially since the 1980s, owing mainly to their unhindered access to affordable fossil fuel energy.
Hence, Germany (importing large volumes of gas and oil and building new gas pipelines to increase gas imports from Russia) and Switzerland (having unused hydro capacity) have both declared their intention to phase out their operating nuclear reactors at the end of their life span, in about two decades. Italy, which imports electricity from France's nuclear reactors, has also said it won't revive its nuclear power sector, which was shut down in 1990.
The US has confined its nuclear ambitions to two planned reactors. It has secured its energy requirements through imports of tar-sand-generated oil from Canada and crude oil from many regions and its own fields, while exploiting its vast coal deposits and phenomenal shale gas reserves, which should make it self-sufficient in gas in a few years.
Thus, their reaction to Fukushima has not had any major impact on the global nuclear energy industry. Asia has been the main arena for nuclear energy, especially since the 1990s. This is reflected in the large nuclear sectors of Japan and South Korea and the growing ones of Taiwan, India and, of course, China. Factors prompting them to opt for nuclear energy prior to Fukushima include reducing their heavy dependency on imported oil, gas and/or coal which make them highly vulnerable to supply and pricing instability. They also wish to diversify their fossil-fuel-dominated energy mix and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate global warming and reduce health hazards to their people.
Asia-Pacific's large and growing energy needs also demand a continued use of nuclear energy and the expansion of this sector in the post-Fukushima era.