Is a Nuclear Renaissance coming our way?

by YanWu October 03, 2011

The landmark Fukushima disaster in Japan continues to have massive ramifications on the Japanese economy, never mind it’s ecosystem (recent media reports the rice is contaminated—so stay away from sushi for awhile . . . ). And yet despite this undeniable catastrophe, experts like Russia’s Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov believe the nuclear sector remains promising in terms of its growth, and for its ability to provide viable alternatives to burning fossil fuels.

Russian nuclear non-proliferation expert Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov has followed the Fukushima crisis in Japan closely. (He also has his eye on the recent controversy surrounding Iran’s relationship to nuclear weaponry.) During his tenure at Techsnabexport (TENEX), Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov worked on numerous international business deals between Japan and Russia to deconstruct and recycle bomb-grade uranium into usable energy.

Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov is quick to point out that while the nuclear disaster in Japan is something to be reckoned with and not to be minimized, in concert it should be noted that Japan is working to promote exports of nuclear technology.

In other words, Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov states, Japan is not halting its nuclear ambitions—it’s merely expanding them abroad. Case in point, The Wall Street Journal reported that a Tokyo-based utility consortium—Japan Atomic Power Co.—recently signed a deal with Vietnam to conduct a feasibility study for two new reactors. Further, a larger consortium of 13 Japanese companies, including nine electric utilities, Hitachi, and Toshiba, plan to sign another memorandum with Vietnam Electricity to start discussions on reactor bids, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Russia is, of course, also getting involved in the nuclear energy field in Asia, as was the case when Vladimir Alexeyevich Smirnov worked with Tenex. Vietnam Electricity officials said this week that Vietnam is negotiating with Russia to borrow approximately $8 billion to build the country’s first nuclear-power plant, Ninh Thuan 1. The sum of these recent business deals? Nuclear power isn’t diminishing. It’s expanding by the second.