Govt not ruling out nuclear energy - Rafizi

 

Malaysia is not ruling out nuclear power generation but needs to make further consideration before integrating it into the country’s energy mix, said Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

He said to manage the energy trilemma, the country did not have the leisure to rule out anything while recognising the potential of small modular reactors (SMR).

“Of course, we look at planning but usually any major pivot, especially on something like nuclear, we have to bring throughout the whole government decision-making bodies and agencies.

“But I can say with clarity that I don’t think we can be choosy. And I prefer to be agnostic, so long as it meets all our demands, all our requirements, and we have to be stringent with our requirements,” Rafizi (above) said on the second day of the Energy Transition Conference today. 

Echoing Rafizi's sentiment, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the government is considering nuclear in its energy mix following its zero carbon emissions policy.

He noted that there were security and safety concerns from the public on nuclear power generation.

“We accept that, but with changing technologies like SMR, it is something that we cannot be ruling out totally,” he said.

- Bernama