Nuclear power: its future debated at World Energy Cong.

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ISTANBUL (AA) - Nuclear power investments and regulations along with the necessity in taking safety precautions in this industry were argued by a prominent group of speakers at the 23rd World Energy Congress (WEC) in Istanbul on Monday.

Speaking at WEC, of which Anadolu Agency is the global communication partner for 2016, Wang Binghua, chairman at State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) in China, said that the decision process in choosing the best technology, appropriate design and correct location were paramount.

"Nuclear power has no frontiers. Security of a nuclear plant has no frontiers either. Any country which intends to develop nuclear energy needs to manage security problems and must consider the others [countries]," he said.

Kirill Komarov, the first deputy CEO of Russia's state nuclear company, Rosatom said, "I expect very huge success of nuclear energy in the very near future. It is possible to repeat the success of the previous century in the nuclear energy field."

Agneta Rising, director general of the World Nuclear Association from the U.K, stressed that 1.1 billion people around the world have no access to electricity while millions suffer from the deadly consequences of air pollution.

Rising said that electricity needs to be generated cleanly and nuclear energy is a source which is the second largest low carbon energy generator, therefore, "nuclear power will play an important role in the future."

Jeff Benjamin, senior vice president at Westinghouse Electric Company in the U.S. stressed that the necessity in gaining public support for the future development of nuclear energy especially in construction, operating, and regulation issues.

He also said that countries could take advantage of proven designs which lead the way in terms of safety and efficiency to expand the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Lauri Virkkunen, CEO of Finnish Pohjolan Voima, said that the nuclear waste problem was a major challenge for the nuclear energy, adding to this end "Finnish and Swedish companies have been working for the safe disposal of nuclear waste."

"Hydro sources are not enough to produce the required electricity. The decision to use nuclear power was taken because of this reality," he said and added that, according to a 2015 survey, half of the people in Finland have a positive attitude towards nuclear energy.

Chief Decommissioning Officer at TEPCO in Japan, Naohiro Masuda, focused on efforts to fix safety problems after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.

He said they have successfully followed security protocols and contamination has been significantly reduced.