EMA appoints firm to evaluate safety and feasibility of nuclear energy
Mott MacDonald outbid 23 other applicants to do this study. EMA says no decision has been made yet on whether Singapore will deploy nuclear energy
[SINGAPORE] The Energy Market Authority (EMA) has appointed engineering and management consultancy firm Mott MacDonald to evaluate the safety and technical feasibility of deploying advanced nuclear energy technologies in Singapore.
In a statement on Tuesday (Sep 2), EMA said that the evaluation will look at the safety features, technology maturity and commercial readiness of these advanced technologies, which includes small modular reactors (SMRs).
EMA had launched a tender to carry out these feasibility studies last December.
Mott MacDonald outbid 23 other applicants, including engineering consultant Arup Singapore, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Surbana Jurong Consultants and KPMG Services, The Straits Times reported.
A few were overseas-based entities such as German engineering services company TUV SUD Energietechnik GmbH Baden-Wurttemberg.
Unlike their traditional counterparts, SMRs have a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts, about a third that of conventional nuclear power reactors.
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The key difference is that SMRs are compact and can be assembled in factories. Some measure less than 5 m in diameter and 10 m in height – which could be suitable for land-constrained Singapore.
EMA said that Mott MacDonald has over 60 years of experience in the nuclear energy industry, and has been providing technical, regulatory and policy advisory services to technology developers and government agencies in the areas of advanced nuclear energy technologies and nuclear safety analysis.
It added that Singapore has not made any decision to deploy nuclear energy.
However, it noted that it is important for Singapore to continue to build capabilities and work with various experts to improve understanding of nuclear energy, especially advanced nuclear energy technologies.
“Any decision to deploy nuclear energy will need to be carefully considered against its safety, reliability, affordability and environmental sustainability in Singapore’s context,” said EMA.
Nuclear energy is emerging as the alternative source of clean energy for many countries looking to achieve their net-zero targets.
Green hydrogen is still prohibitively expensive, while renewable sources, such as wind and solar, face intermittency issues.
Currently, about 95 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is generated from natural gas imported from countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
While Singapore has repeatedly said that it has not made any decision whether to deploy nuclear power in its pursuit of being net-zero by 2050, the city-state has taken part in several nuclear-related initiatives in the last few years.
It inked an agreement on nuclear cooperation with the United States in July last year, which will allow the country to learn about nuclear technologies and scientific research from American organisations.
Just a few weeks ago, the National University of Singapore launched a new research institute with an expanded research scope that will help Singapore better evaluate the viability of nuclear power for the city-state.
Singapore is now also building its expertise in this area with an institute focused on nuclear research and safety.
Its neighbours in South-east Asia are also showing increasing interest in nuclear power generation.
The Malaysian government has reportedly completed a pre-feasibility study on nuclear power. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said in Malaysia’s parliament on Jul 30 that the study’s initial findings indicated that nuclear energy has strong potential to serve as a stable, clean and reliable power source for the country.
Other Asean countries have gone further. Indonesia has said that it aims to commission its first nuclear power plant by 2034 as part of a broader push to diversify its energy mix and strengthen long-term energy. The Philippines aims to deploy 1.2 gigawatt of nuclear capacity by 2032, with plans to scale up to 2.4 GW by 2035 and potentially 4.8 GW by 2050.
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