More countries opt for nuclear power

K. Venugopal Chennai, July 5 At least 27 countries are building or planning to set up their first nuclear power plants as they try to address their growing energy needs with lower carbon emissions, Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted on Saturday. Debutant nations In the list of debutant countries are Malaysia, Thailand and Bangladesh. In Thailand, for instance, electricity demand is expected to grow at over seven per cent for the next 20 years. The doubling of petroleum prices in the past year has made electricity expensive as 70 per cent of the current needs come from gas-based generating plants. “As climate change and the rapidly expanding demand for energy become significant problems, there is a growing interest in nuclear energy, which is non-fossil fuel energy, does not emit CO{-2} in the process of combustion of... [read full story]