Nuclear power

Nuclear power has been seen as an answer to the energy problems of the Third World and Third World markets have been seen as an answer to the problems of the nuclear power industry. For some years during the 1970s both views seemed tenable. This paper examines the progress and setbacks of nuclear power in developing countries. In concentrates mainly on the four countries with real nuclear power commitments (as opposed to all-but-abandoned ambitions) - South Korea and Taiwan, where the interest has been mainly in obtaining cheaper and reliable electricity supplies, and Argentina and India, where the main interest has been in developing indigenous nuclear technological capabilities. A number of possibilities are examined which could influence future nuclear ordering, including smaller reactors to suit Third World electricity grids and a possible way round the constraint of large external debts. (author)