May 23, 2012—An International Atomic Energy Agency official said that despite the global economic crisis and last year’s accident in Japan, nuclear energy continues to grow, though at a slower pace than before.
Nuclear energy will continue to be an important option to meet the world’s burgeoning demand for energy, Janice Dunn Lee said at NEI’s Nuclear Energy Assembly in Charlotte.
The need, she said, is especially acute in developing nations, which regard access to modern energy sources and cheap reliable electricity as a key to their economic development.
Quoting United Nations sources, she said 1.6 billion people lack access to electricity and 2.4 billion use wood and other biomass material for fuel. Dunn Lee said access to electricity alone would help to reduce poverty by making available better sources of clean water, health care and transportation.
Dunn Lee said between seven and 20 countries will have installed their first nuclear energy facilities by 2030 and that the IAEA stands ready to help introduce nuclear energy “safely and profitably.”
The agency’s main channel of development assistance to its 154 member states is its technical cooperation program, which provides safety assessments, technical analyses, peer reviews and expert advice. The IAEA also has an extensive set of safety standards and other publications.
She said since the Fukushima accident, the agency has strengthened its standards and practices in several areas, including decontamination and decommissioning and radiation effects.
NEW INPO CHIEF INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO INDUSTRY
Robert Willard, who this spring became the president and chief executive officer of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, introduced himself for the first time to the nuclear energy industry executives gathered for NEI’s annual conference.
“Everything in the past few weeks is a first for me,” he said.
He said he was impressed with what he called the industry’s “most rare” commitment to safety.
He praised his predecessor, James Ellis, who has retired.
“He will always be regarded as one of the legends of INPO,” Willard said.
Willard, who like Ellis is retired from the U.S. Navy, most recently was commander of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii.
WANO HEAD OUTLINES NEW GOALS
The World Association of Nuclear Operators is changing its focus on prevention of accidents to prevention and mitigation, its managing director said.
George Felgate told NEI’s annual conference that priority is one of the organization’s responses to last year’s nuclear accident in Japan.
He said WANO was working with Japan as government officials there are considering restarting the reactors that were shut down for routine maintenance after the accident. The last one went offline May 5, leaving the country to depend exclusively on fossil fuels.
Challenges facing WANO include the rapid growth of nuclear energy, the aging of facilities and turnover in the workforce, he said.
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Nuclear Energy Overview