To decrease their dependence on oil, many developed nations are turning to nuclear power as a more reliable source of energy.
Most of the groundswell of activity in nuclear power is coming from Asia. According to the World Nuclear Association, east and south Asia currently have “about 100 nuclear reactors in operation, 20 under construction, and plans to build a further 40.”
On the other hand, today’s capitol of nuclear power, Western Europe, has firm plans to develop only one new reactor in Finland. Meanwhile, the U.S. is working on tentative proposals to develop a new generation of nuclear reactors, which we’ll discuss shortly.
In Japan, the government had been trying to diversify its sources of energy even before the recent war in Iraq. Over the past 30 years, it has slashed its dependency ratio on oil from 77 percent to just under 50 percent. However, 90 percent of that oil still comes from the Middle East, so Japan’s investment in nuclear energy is viewed as a way to protect its economy if terrorism or other events disrupt the flow of oil. For that reason, Japan plans to construct 12 new reactors with a total capacity of 14,400 megawatts.
Rapid growth is also occurring elsewhere in Asia. Currently, China is leading the way. It is ranked second among the world’s countries in the amount of energy it uses and in the CO2 it emits. China’s investments in nuclear power include nine reactors, with a combined capacity of 6,500 megawatts, supplying just under 2 percent of its electricity.
China is currently using Russian contractors to build two new reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, on its east coast. By the end of 2004, China’s leaders will solicit bids from companies around the world to help in the next stage
of its strategy, which involves building four new reactors. Each reactor will cost about $1.5
billion and will generate about 1,000 megawatts of power.
All of these steps will bring China closer to realizing its long-term plan to increase its nuclear power capacity to 40,000 megawatts over the next 15 years. To reach this goal, it will have to add two reactors each year, at a total cost of $30 billion.
Meanwhile, South Korea already has 19 reactors on-line, which generate about 16,000 mega-watts of power. But there’s more on the way. South Korea’s goal is to...
