WEEK 5: SUMMARY/READER'S RESPONSE DRAFT #2: CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION

In the article “How can Southeast Asia’s clean energy transition be sped up?”, Ha (2019) wrote on experts who addressed how Southeast Asia (SEA) should implement various methods to beget green energy production. According to Ha, Moniz, who is the Chief Executive of the Energy Futures and Nuclear Threat Initiative, stated that deploying an array of "low-carbon technologies and solutions" in SEA is vital to reducing emissions. Moniz also mentioned that Singapore is inapt for the usage of solar and wind power due to having limited natural resources and space and may reap more from nuclear fusion or hydrogen power. Ha also says that implementing such methods is not cost efficient to meet the objective of the Paris Agreement. Ha also mentioned that Wong, the Group Chief Executive of utilities company Singapore Power, believes that balancing energy consumption rates are more critical than creating a new energy source to suit our current lifestyle. Instead, Ha mentions the Ecosperity report, in which it would be more beneficial for SEA if energy conservation methods were emphasised more while accommodating growing economic needs.

It would be more practical for Singapore to focus on energy conserving technologies to accommodate to the country’s current lifestyle rather than to create a new energy source due to the country's constraint space and dense population.

Firstly, it is well known that Singapore is a small country with limited space to have significant developments without taking up a large amount of land. In the article, Ha mentions that Singapore is a densely populated tiny city and may reap more from nuclear fusion or hydrogen power. However, it was mentioned by S.Ho et al in the article “Online, offline, or word-of-mouth? Complementary media usage patterns and credibility perceptions of nuclear energy information in Southeast Asia” that “it will be challenging to site nuclear power plants and prepare socio-politically acceptable contingency measures due to Singapore’s limited land mass.”. In another article “Why support nuclear energy? The roles of citizen knowledge, trust, mediause, and perceptions across five Southeast Asian countries” the authors S.Ho, S.F Chuah mentions “findings from an extensive study conducted in 2012 concluded that the risks of existing nuclear technology outweighed its benefits, given the country’s small land area and high population density.”. To add on to the limited land mass issue, I feel that the people are at a high risk of exposure in case there are any radiation leaks or explosion at the nuclear plants due to the country’s dense population.

Secondly, it is more economical and sustainable to use energy conserving technologies than to create a new energy source such as nuclear fusion. In Singapore, it would be easy for us to switch to nuclear fusion energy as most of our energy consumption comes from the high usage of air-conditioners. Although it is sustainable to run a nuclear fusion plant, the cost to build it is paramount and could be up to billions. As compared to using renewable energy sources such as solar and hydro power where costs of building and maintaining them are only in the millions range.

Lastly, to reinforce my first point, the building of nuclear fusion plants would also not be cost efficient to comply with the Paris Agreement. The World Nuclear Association (2020) states that nuclear fusion involves the different isotopes of hydrogen being heated to extreme temperatures reaching 50 million degrees Celsius, and must be stabilised under intense pressure, density and be confined long enough for the nuclei to bond. The amount of heat that is generated for nuclear fusion is very costly to implement compared to conventional methods when addressing the Paris Agreement needs.

However, it can be argued that due to improving construction technology, the costs of constructing nuclear fusion plants have reduced which makes it more viable and the radiation cause by its waste would also not pose a problem if isolation procedures were taken. Having a limit on storing renewable energy such as solar and hydro also makes nuclear energy more appealing due to its close to endless generation.

Although creating new energy sources may be viable in the future, I feel that with the technology of our time, looking into ways to refine renewable energy is the way to go.

(736 words)

 

References:

Ha, T. (2019, July 19). How can Southeast Asia's Clean Energy Transition be sped up? Eco-Business. https://www.eco-business.com/news/how-can-southeast-asias-clean-energy-transition-be-sped-up/

World Nuclear Association. (2020, November). Nuclear fusion power.

            https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future generation/nuclear-fusion-power.aspx

Ho, S. S., & Chuah, A. S.F. (2021, September). Why support nuclear energy? The roles of citizen knowledge, trust, media use, and perceptions across five Southeast Asian countries. 79. https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2214629621002486?token=C0C3F2EC2AC728EBD58A6D2FBE8C8041773520C751AEAB8D918FDB6653881BECC1FAD80C328393ADC8DC5BB0BDA4A64F&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=20220217055508.

Ho, S. S., Leong, A. D., Looi, J., & Chuah, A. S.F. (2019, February). Online, offline, or word-of-mouth?Complementary media usage patterns and credibility perceptions of nuclear energy information in Southeast Asia. 48.    https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2214629618304468?token=D31DEDDFC859DA95547F9233EF24F3A0AAA09687F4DB9C207A4BADDEC592559C40CE20DD88B9E0D12AFA1B2FE97ACFEC&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=20220217061948