S. Korea poised to compete in 'nuclear renaissance': NEA official

PARIS, Dec. 22 (Yonhap) -- Demand for nuclear power is set to spike in coming
decades as the world tries to stop global warming and cut fuel costs, and South
Korea is poised to play a major role in this "renaissance," an atomic energy
expert said Tuesday.

Janice Dunn Lee, deputy chief of the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA),
told reporters here that about 50 countries around the world with no past
experience have shown interest in building up their nuclear energy capabilities.
Countries in North America and Europe, which curtailed atomic energy development
following the Chernobyl disaster and Three Mile Island incident, are starting to
look at nuclear power as an alternative to fossil fuel and triggering a so-called
"nuclear renaissance," she said.
"There is growing recognition about the potential of nuclear energy," Dunn Lee
said, predicting there may be upwards of 1,040 nuclear reactors in operation
around the world by 2050, from around 440 today.
But she said that despite the potential rise in demand there are just a handful
of vendors that can meet it. At present, only South Korea, France, Russia,
Canada, the United States and Japan have vendors with the technological knowhow
and resources to build nuclear power plants.
The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. recently put its APR-1400 on the market,
and France is pitching to sell its European Pressurized reactor. Westinghouse,
owned by Japan and the United States, wants to sell its AP-1000 reactor.
"Competition is expected to be stiff among these vendors," she said, adding that
because many aspiring countries are new to the nuclear energy sector there should
extensive guidelines and a roll-out of related infrastructure.
Dunn Lee said there is a need for both companies and international organizations
such as the NEA -- a 28-member body under the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development -- and the International Atomic Energy Agency to help
out with safety, operational knowhow and non-proliferation.
She said that coming up with financial support and reviewing licensing
requirements will be a challenge to all in the sector.
Lee Dunn said that while atomic energy is not generally categorized as "green"
technology like wind and solar power, it can resolve some existing energy
problems.
"Before renewable energy sources become more economical and available, nuclear
power can fill the gap," she said.
Lee Dunn noted that while the problem of handling nuclear waste has not been
fully resolved, the world should be able to come up with a safe disposable route
by 2050.
The dry cast storage system currently used at nuclear power plants can hold waste
for about 100 years, she said, but with the half-life of radioactive waste
reaching more than 10,000 years there is a need for a more long-term approach.
(END)