Tomohiro Ichihara reports that one major driving force behind the expansion of Toshiba nuclear power plant business is the growing demand for electricity in Asia.
According to the World Nuclear Association, 99 of 447 nuclear power plants now operating in the world are in the U.S.. Three countries, the U.S., France and Japan, account for more than 50% of all nuclear power plants in operation on an output basis. But the projected output of plants under construction tells a very different story. China alone accounts for nearly 40% of the total and Asia as a whole makes up over 60% currently under construction.
Although nuclear is overcoming opposition in the U.S., nuclear power is booming in Asia on the back of the regional economic growth, with China leading the way. The country is home to six of the eight nuclear power plants built between 2015 and 2016.
New plants are being built to meet the shortfall in electricity supply. China is one of the few growth markets that did not slow down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and local plant constructors are developing greater technological strength.
Similarly, India has continued to pursue more nuclear power. One in three people in rural India currently have no electricity supply. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to increase the nuclear power output capacity to 63 gigawatts by 2032, or 10 times what it is now. In November 2016, India and Japan signed a nuclear cooperation agreement during Modi visit to Tokyo.
Korea Electric Power Corp., or Kepco, secured the rights to operate four plants it is building in the United Arab Emirates for 60 years. The contract is worth a staggering 54 trillion won ($47.1 billion). The 2009 agreement was the first overseas nuclear plant construction deal won by a group of South Korean companies spearheaded by Kepco. The plants are scheduled to go onstream between 2017 and 2020.
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