While oil prices continue to rise significantly, and natural gas - which is the main energy source for producing electricity in Thailand - is likely to run out in the next 10 years, it's time the country began to consider developing a new energy source for the future, said the office's secretary-general Manoon Aramrattana.

He said that even though there were many new alternative energy sources such as biomass, wind or solar power that can produce electricity, these could not yet be used for electricity production on a large scale.

Nuclear technology offers an answer, he added, as it could provide not only power for mass electricity production, but being clean energy, it was also eco-friendly.

"Nuclear technology is clean and will not contribute greenhouse emissions to the environment, especially when compared to charcoal, which releases carbon dioxide into the air," he said.

With its benefits, many countries around the world including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Japan, South Korea and India have adopted nuclear technology for electric power generation. It's estimated that there are now more than 400 nuclear power plants in operation worldwide.

Manoon said with this trend, Thailand should consider this technology to strengthen the country's utilities infrastructure.

A nuclear power plant normally works like any other power plant, except that it uses energy fission to produce electricity. Uranium is a key material for the plant's electrical generation.

In the production process, uranium is inserted into long, vertical tubes in the nuclear reactor. As uranium atoms are struck by atomic particles, they split or experience fission to release particles of their own. These particles, called neutrons, strike other uranium atoms, splitting them under a chain reaction. When atoms split, they also release heat, which is then used to propel turbines for electricity generation.

Manoon said that as fission energy offered very high temperatures, a nuclear power plant would use much less raw than other power plants.

For example, to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity, 27 tonnes of uranium would be used in one year, while around three million tonnes of oil or coal are required to produce the same amount of electricity.

However, investing in nuclear power required government agreement and a large investment. Manoon said a nuclear power plant is expected to cost around Bt50 billion. With this investment, the plant can produce electricity at 600 megawatts per second.

Thailand as a whole uses around 26,000 megawatts.

"Even though the initial investment in a nuclear power plant is high, the plant can be in operation over the long term, around 60 years. Meanwhile, the production cost of electricity from nuclear technology is just Bt2.5 per kilowatt-hour and is the same as power produced from charcoal," he said.

Manoon said that nuclear technology was hoped to be a major backup source to generate electricity for the whole country as uranium stocks are likely to be available for the next 100 years at least.

"We hope that nuclear technology will complement the existing sources of electric power generation, helping the country solve the energy crisis," he added.

Safety is a major concern amongst the public when they think about nuclear technology. Manoon added that setting up a nuclear plant must be implemented under international security and engineering standards.

"Everything in the plant would be designed to world standards, so people can be sure of safety," he said.

Manoon added that by-products from the production process would be kept inside the plant's closed environment, "which differs from other power plants where their by-products are released into the air and cause pollution".

It's also common knowledge that uranium used in the plant is the same material used to produce nuclear weapons and many people are concerned about a possible explosion in the plant.

Manoon said he was confident that there would not be any explosion because the material used for power generation is just 3 to 5 per cent concentrated uranium, which could not explode. Normally, uranium to produce nuclear weapons must have at least 95 per cent concentration. "That's why there is no chance at all of an explosion in a nuclear power plant," Manoon said.

Since the establishment of a nuclear power plant would take around 15 years, he also called for government policy changes, to set the direction to develop this technology for electrical power generation.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation