OREANDA-NEWS. September 14, 2012.   Deputy Director General of ROSATOM for International Business and Development Kirill Komarov was among the speakers at the 37th World Nuclear Association (WNA) Annual Symposium in London. The topic of his presentation was the global nuclear power development from the perspective of Rosatom. In his presentation K. Komarov highlighted the key factors affecting the modern nuclear energy market.

According to the speaker, one of the most important trends is that the most countries are holding their political nerve towards developing national nuclear power programmes. Komarov outlined that the first post-Fukushima launch of a previously stopped NPP is of an incredible importance for the future of global nuclear power, and in this regard he expressed his support for Japanese colleagues. “We are sure that the fundamental preconditions for the development of nuclear power have not changed as a result of the incident at Fukushima, and the critical importance of nuclear power for developing countries is quite clear”, noted Komarov.

He also commented on the policy of Germany and several other countries, which “have made the difficult decision to speed up plans to nuclear power phase out, and only time will tell how this works out”. According to Komarov, the most significant factor affecting the long-term development of the global market for nuclear power was the continuing effects of the global financial crisis, affecting the international capital, and in such conditions most countries do not have the means to independently finance such megaprojects as NPP construction. “This is a serious challenge for both clients and vendors. We are convinced that under these conditions the role of the state becomes the only option for sustainable development of nuclear power in the long-term, and there will be new demands for a new level of partnership between market players”, stated Komarov.

The speaker also noted that in the conditions of the post-Fukushima era, and against the backdrop of the global financial crisis the aim of a responsible vendor is to provide support for full-scale development of the client country's nuclear programme. At the same time, one of the key elements in an offer from a responsible vendor must be financing solutions that can provide support to the client country to realise the project from an investment point of view.

In addition to that, responsible vendors must be also capable to meet the highest post-Fukushima safety standards when delivering a plant. In this regard Komarov reported that the Russian-designed reactors, working in 10 countries including five within the EU, had successfully passed the stress tests.

In conclusion of his report Kirill Komarov encouraged the audience to address the modern challenges by developing cooperation with each other, as well as to contribute to strengthening the government support for the nuclear industry.

The State Corporation Rosatom traditionally takes part in the work of the annual WNA symposium. In addition to information about Rosatom’s activities at the general booth presenting the Russian nuclear industry, presented are the following companies: Fuel Company of Rosatom “TVEL”, Concern “Rosenergoatom” OJSC, JSC Atomenergoprom, JSC Atomnergomas, JSC TENEX etc.

Annual WNA Symposium is held in London and has established itself as the industry’s premier international meeting, attracting an attendance of over 700 leaders and specialists from more than 25 countries. The Symposium is also drawing increased attention from non-industry professionals who recognize nuclear power’s central importance in securing our world’s energy and environmental future. The 37th Annual WNA Symposium is being held on September 12-14, 2012.