Talks of nuclear energy were revived during the government’s 13th Malaysian Plan (13MP). At current, the administration is discussing the potential of throwing the power source into the country’s energy generation mix by 2031.
As to who will be handling the possible development and potential construction of a nuclear power plant in Malaysia, that responsibility falls into the hands of MyPower Corp. The entity will reportedly oversee its governance in line with the provisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The nuclear energy development programme for electricity generation as a clean energy source in the national energy mix will be implemented and is expected to begin operations in 2031.”
Contrary to popular belief, nuclear power is considered one of the cleanest energy sources in the world. The white “smoke” that actually comes out of the massive chimneys is actually massive plumes of steam, generated by the nuclear reactors being cooled by billions of litres of water. Yes, the fear of nuclear accidents are real and is not unfounded, as evidenced by the events of Chernobyl in Ukraine, the Three Mile Island incident in the US, and the Fukushima power plant meltdown in Japan. However, it is essential to note that, in the first two cases, their meltdowns were man-made and resulted from human error, whereas the third was caused by two consecutive natural disasters.
This isn’t the first time the subject of nuclear energy has come up in the government’s discussion. The idea of adopting nuclear energy in Malaysia was first tabled in 2018, but was dropped due to radioactive waste concerns.
(Source: The Edge)
