【国会发言】人力部长陈诗龙：新加坡正在密切关注核能的最新发展

严燕松议员：感谢部长回答我的问题。最后一个问题——政府打算什么时候对未来是否将核能纳入我们的能源结构做出决定？部长是否同意，为有志的科学家和我们的人民提供一些确定性或更多的确定性是很重要的？

陈诗龙医生：我认为这位议员假设我们已经在核能上做出了决定。正如我之前在回答议会问题时所说的，我们还没有做出决定。议员必须理解，传统的核反应堆，像是第一代、第二代反应堆，其安全缓冲区实际上超过了新加坡的任何一个半径范围。因此，我们必须等到小型模块化反应堆，或者是第四代反应堆（Generation 4 thermal reactors）在商业上得到应用，并且我们了解其安全性能后，才能做出决定。

不过，我们认识到辐射安全、操作能力和工程科学的重要性和相关性。因此，我们没有停止培训本地人才，将他们派往海外，附属于各大机构，与他们合作学习，吸收知识，以便在我们最终做出决定时，将他们带回这里。

我认为，鉴于这些新一代小型模块化反应堆的商业化初期阶段，这已经是一个非常清晰的路线图了。

关于核聚变，正如我之前所说，今天为了产生核聚变反应所需的能量输入远远超过我们能够从中提取的能量。所以，总体来说，从经济角度来看，我们没有理由进入这个领域。但即便如此，我们仍然在认真研究并密切关注这一领域的发展。

我认为这就是我们能告诉你的全部。我们无法承诺一个特定的时间表，但这并不意味着我们停止了研究。正如我所说，目前我们的中长期计划是至少有100名研究人员。

为了我们的能源安全，我们也不会仅依靠一两种技术。我说过，没有什么是被排除在外的。我们已经改善了天然气采购来源的多样化。我在这个议会中花了很多时间解释为什么我们需要多样化我们的天然气来源。我们也进行了发展方案计划书（Request for Proposal, RFPs），并给出了多达四吉瓦低碳能源从周边地区进口的有条件批准。我们还在探索国内潜在的地热能源资源。我们正在试点一个关于氨的全流程项目，从加注燃料到利用氨发电，目的是最终一旦低碳或绿色氢气的更经济运输技术得到确立，我们也将使用其作为发电的来源之一。

这些是我们目前在探索的不同选择，同时我们也在关注核能。我希望这能给议员一些解答。

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: I thank the Minister for addressing my questions. Just that last question – when is the Government going to take a position on whether to use nuclear energy in our energy mix in the future? Does the Minister agree that it is important to provide some certainty or more certainty to both aspiring scientists and our people with regard to the use of nuclear energy?

Dr Tan See Leng: I think the Member presupposes that we have made a decision on nuclear energy. And as I have earlier on, when I addressed the Parliamentary Question, I have said that we have not made a decision. The Member has to appreciate that very conventional nuclear reactors, the older versions, the Generation 1, Generation 2, the safety buffer zone is actually beyond even our radius or any part where you can talk about in Singapore. So, we have to wait to a small modular reactor, or the newer Generation 4 type of thermal reactors to be deployed commercially and for us to understand the safety profile before we make a decision.

However, we recognise the fact that radiological safety, the understanding of the operational capabilities, the engineering science behind it, continues to be something that is important and relevant to us. Hence, we have not stopped training our local pipeline of talent, sending them overseas, attaching them to institutions all over, collaborating with them to learn and to adapt that expertise and invite the knowledge, so that at some point in time when we have finally made the decision, we will then bring them back here.

I think this is a very clear enough roadmap given the nascency of the commercialisation of some of these newer generations type of small modular reactors.

For fusion, as I have said earlier on, today, the net energy input put in to develop that fusion reaction is far more than what we are able to extract from it. So, net-net, it does not make economic sense in any way for us to go into it. But having said that, we are still nonetheless studying that, monitoring that space very closely.

I think this is as far as we can tell you. We will not be able to commit to a particular timeline, but that does not mean that we stop looking at it. As I have said today, our pipeline in the medium to long term is 100 researchers at least.

And for our own energy security, we also do not rest on one or two technologies. I said nothing is off the table. We have improved the diversification of our sources of procurement for natural gas. I think I have spent a lot of hours in this House explaining, expounding why we need to diversify our gas sources. We have also gone into Requests for Proposal (RFPs). We have given conditional approvals for up to four gigawatts of low carbon energy imports from around the region. We are also exploring potentially geothermal energy sources within our country itself. We are also piloting a new pathfinder project for ammonia – end-to-end – from bunkering to the generation of electricity using ammonia, with a view that ultimately, once technologies for a more economical means of transportation of low carbon or green hydrogen can be established, we will also go and use that as one of the sources for us to generate power as well.

So, those are the different alternatives that we are now exploring, on top of also keeping our eyes on nuclear energy. I hope that gives the Member the reassurance.