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Thailand and Vietnam just not able to afford nuclear power

The first plants are likely to be delayed until 2028 at the earliest, he said.“The key element is also the financing of these projects, which we feel will be delayed…Vietnam may not be able to afford paying “a premium”…

Thai, Vietnamese Nuclear Plans Face Delays, Wood Mackenzie Says – Bloomberg, By Ann Koh – Nov 19, 2010 Southeast Asia’s first nuclear power plants, planned in Vietnam and Thailand by 2020, may be delayed by at least eight years because of a shortage of skilled workers and cheaper coal production, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.The two countries will take longer to approve funding for nuclear plants compared with coal-fired ones, as well as to implement safety measures, Graham Tyler, head of the southeast Asian gas and power division at Wood Mackenzie, an Edinburgh, Scotland-based energy consultant, said in an interview in Singapore.

The first plants are likely to be delayed until 2028 at the earliest, he said.“The key element is also the financing of these projects, which we feel will be delayed because it is going to be more expensive than coal,” said Tyler. “It’s not just about building a power station. You need to get trained engineers who can operate it, inspect it, make sure that it’s safe.”……

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Thailand, which plans to put in a nuclear safety regulatory framework in the four years starting 2011, may not complete this step until 2026, according to Wood Mackenzie estimates.

Vietnam may not be able to afford paying “a premium” like the United Arab Emirates is doing to import experienced workers, and has yet to set up the training programs that China and Russia have, Tyler said.

The U.A.E., whose economy was three times the size of Vietnam’s last year, awarded a $18.6 billion contract last December to Korea Electric Power Corp. to build four nuclear plants by 2020.

“You can import talent, but you’re going to have to pay a premium,” said Tyler. “The U.A.E. is a lot richer than the countries in this region, and so they’re buying it in. Southeast …..

Thai, Vietnamese Nuclear Plans Face Delays, Wood Mackenzie Says – Bloomberg

November 19, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, business and costs, Vietnam | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium