ADB Likely To Uphold Stance Against Financing Nuclear Power Projects

PETALING JAYA, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to maintain its position of not financing a nuclear power generation development project while reviewing its energy policy this year, despite the growing popularity of the alternative power source.

ADB director (Southeast Asia and the Pacific) for the Energy Sector, Dr Keiju Mitsuhashi said as much as ADB wants to remain supportive of its member countries with the increasing capacity, the bank still feels that there are a lot of barriers to nuclear power generation investment, including its deployments, the risk of waste management and safety.

"We are not a financing solution for everything. We're not Superman. We have to specialise in what we're good at, and leave areas outside our expertise to other institutions and financing agencies better suited for those roles.

“In that context, we do feel that we won't be investing in supporting the nuclear power generation," he said during a panel discussion session of the ASEAN Workshop on Sustainable Development (AWSD) 2025, held at Sunway University, here today.

The panellists for the session entitled "Powering ASEAN Green Future: Power Generation, Transmission, and Storage", include Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, as well as Xin Baoan, the chairman of Global Energy Interconnection Development Cooperation Organisation and President of China Electricity Council.

Mitsuhashi noted that nuclear power generation is increasingly attracting the interest of investors globally,  with many countries, including those in Southeast Asia and Malaysia, aspiring to go ahead with their decarbonisation by 2050 policy.

"Seems that it is a long way away, but we have to act now. Each country needs to ensure energy security, access to energy and ensuring that it’s affordable.

“Nuclear power generation is one of the solutions that's been considered for this in some countries and increasingly in many," he said.

 According to Mitsuhashi, it is very difficult to replace coal-fired power plants with intermittent, variable renewable energy like solar and wind, as it requires investments in storage, battery energy storage and pump hydro systems. 

"Many countries look at the energy mix for their power development plan. We support that even if it includes the nuclear power generation plan. 

"It is just that we're not confident as an institution to support financing the nuclear power plant. And, you know, there's a lot of division of labour, looking at the competencies and addressing weaknesses," he said. 

He said as a multilateral development bank, ADB will respect the transparency and cost competitiveness in making sure that the investment is done, followed by an open tender bidding. 

-- BERNAMA