| The Center for Market Education has welcomed Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli's words according to which Malaysia is set to adopt nuclear power generation as one of its energy sources in the coming years. CME said according to Rafizi, nuclear is a cleaner energy source compared to others, which could help the country achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is in line with what CME argued with a policy paper published in February highlighting six recommendations for Malaysia's energy transition. These six recommendations include making the transition to nuclear energy, phasing out inefficient subsidies, uncap FiT policy, implementing regulatory sandboxes – which are partial deregulation initiatives that can spur innovation, improve consumer support and public awareness of energy issues. "These policies will help Malaysia achieve both economic growth and environmental progress; this is the twin benefit of an eco-modernist approach, as opposed to radical environmentalism common today that divorce both goals", explained Dr Carmelo Ferlito, CME CEO. The paper showed how nuclear power has the highest capacity factor (92.5%) among the green energies, with solar having the lowest (24.9%). The biggest advantage of nuclear energy is the energy efficiency it provides. Nuclear energy has by far the highest energy output of all alternatives. For comparison, a single pellet of uranium weighing six grams contains the same amount of energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 149 pounds of oil or one ton of coal. Nuclear has a much higher energy output compared to its fuel intake. A great way to compare efficiency is to compare land use (square meter) per Mwh of energy generation. Based on the graph below it is very clear that nuclear energy requires the least amount of land per Mwh of power generation. |
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| At the same time, CME said nuclear energy is one of the cleanest forms of energy in terms of emissions produced. When compared to other sources of energy, CO2 emissions per gigawatt/hour produced from nuclear energy are the lowest. This is an important point, because it illustrates the central feature of eco-modernism: the use of technology to decouple human development from its environmental impacts. Nuclear is a highly promising option in this regard, especially considering the latest progress made on fusion. |
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| Therefore, "CME is glad to see the government committed to an energy transition platform which is non-ideological, but rather based on science and on the recognition that green sustainability must walk together with economic sustainability, making people better-off and not worse-off", concluded Dr Ferlito. |
