ASIA is emerging as the focus for the debates and implementation of nuclear power. The International Atomic Energy Agency reveals that in 1993, the construction of over 10 nuclear power reactors began in Asia. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US corroborates this revelation. According to a recent EIA report, nuclear power capability in the region will register a growth of at least 50 per cent starting 1992 to 2010.

This rapid growth is the result of the soaring demand for energy in the region. According to the International Finance Corporation, the private sector lending window of the World Bank, the demand for energy in the region will escalate by 12 per cent annually through the 1990s. Thus, it is hardly surprising that many Asian nations have turned a responsive ear to the Western hype of nuclear power being a sustainable answer to electricity needs in the coming years. Their argument is based on the urgent need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.

At the forefront of Asia's nuclear brigade are Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Over 43 per cent of South Korea's electricity comes from nuclear plants, while the comparable figures are 35.4 per cent for Taiwan and 27.7 per cent for Japan. Besides, the 3 countries have ambitious plans to expand their nuclear power capacity (International Herald Tribune).

But then, so do China and India. Recently, China's second 1,000 mw reactor, at the controversial Daya Bay nuclear power station in Guangdong province, began to run at full tilt. It will soon be hooked to the country's electricity grid. With the completion of the plant, China's nuclear power output in 1994 will be between 8 billion to 10 billion kw. Future plans include setting up plants at Ling:o, also in Guangdong province, and Wafangdian in the northeastern Liaoning province.

Nor is India averse to shoring up its nuclear capacity. Recently, India's 10th nuclear power plant began commercial operation at Kaiga in Karnataka. The first unit was scheduled to go critical in June 1996 and the second, 6 months later. However, the collapse of a portion of the inner containment dome of the first unit may throw these schedules out of gear

Impending energy crunches are also likely to drive Indonesia and Thailand into the nuclear fold. Indonesia has ambitions to become a technological and industrial powerhouse in the 21st century. Thailand's natural gas supplies are insufficient to meet future electricity demand, which is expected to triple over the next 20 years.

This is good news for multinational companies in the nuclear power sector. Companies from Japan, Taiwan, North America and Europe are running neck to neck to get a slice of the pie in Indonesia's first 600 mw plant. The plant, to be set up on the Muria peninsula on the north coast of central Java, will cost approximately $1.2 billion. The country also nurtures the ambition of establishing up to 12 large nuclear plants over the next 25 years in the 2 most densely-populated islands of Java and Bali.

However, Western environmentalists believe that natural gas and renewable energy sources such as solar energy are safer solutions. Some maintain that there is little evidence to show that nuclear power helps cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. In an interview with Tomorrow, Michael Braungart, director of the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency in Hamburg, said: "It's totally stupid to suggest nuclear power as an alternative (energy source). Not one kg pf carbon dioxide will be saved."

However, even hardline environmentalists acknowledge that nuclear power cannot be wished away. The challenge is to highlight the commercial viability of renewable energy sources such as solar power and to counter the theory of a link between nuclear power and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.