Vietnam, US conceive nuclear family

Vietnam’s energy sector will be supplemented by nuclear power within the next decade, Photo: Le Toan

The company announced last week that it entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS) that calls for both parties to collaborate in the continued development of administrative, legal and regulatory infrastructure to support Vietnam’s civil nuclear energy programme.

Lightbridge is a leading innovator of next generation nuclear fuel designs and a provider of nuclear energy consulting services to commercial and governmental organisations.

The MoU came after the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee approved an agreement on civilian nuclear co-operation between the US and Vietnam, allowing American firms to expand business in Vietnam’s nuclear power market. The two countries signed a co-operation agreement last October which was approved by the US president in February.

“This understanding recognises Lightbridge’s global expertise in developing effective support infrastructure for non-proliferative, commercial nuclear energy programmes and is another important step in Vietnam’s drive to deliver clean, safe, affordable nuclear energy to support the nation’s economic growth,” said Seth Grae, Lightbridge president and CEO.

He added that the understanding provides a framework for Lightbridge’s advisory service team to support VARANS under specific tasks, as VARANS seeks to implement best practices in nuclear regulations, licensing, inspection, as well as education and training activities.

To ensure energy security, Vietnam had an ambitious plan to build 14 nuclear power reactors with the total capacity of around 15,000-16,000 megawatts by 2030, according to Decision 906/QD-TTg signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung four years ago.

The Vietnamese government estimated nuclear power would eventually account for 10 per cent of the country’s total power generation capacity. Nuclear power plants will be built at eight locations in five central provinces in Vietnam - Ninh Thuan, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Quang Ngai and Ha Tinh.

The government is currently preparing for the construction of four reactors at two plants in Ninh Thuan that are expected to come on line later this decade. Russian and Japanese contractors will be building the two plants under turnkey contracts.

However, with the plan to build 14 reactors over the next two decades, Vietnam still offers huge opportunities to foreign companies from other countries to involve in this market.