BANGKOK: Thailand is exploring small modular nuclear reactor technology as South-East Asia's second-largest economy looks to diversify its energy mix amid dwindling reserves of natural gas that produces much of its power, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.
Alongside green hydrogen and battery storage solutions, the country is looking at small modular reactor power plants to make manufacturing more environmentally friendly, he said. Under a previous power development plan, Thailand's first nuclear power plant was scheduled to begin operation in 2020 but the project was delayed after Japan's Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011.
"Though SMRs have lower upfront capital cost per unit, their economic competitiveness is still to be proven in practice once they are deployed," according to the IAEA.