Education efforts on nuclear must begin with understanding Singapore’s energy constraints: EMA official 

SINGAPORE - Increasing public awareness of Singapore’s energy constraints and its need for alternative sources of energy will be important first steps to improving people’s understanding of why the country is considering nuclear energy.

Mr Darryl Chan, who helms the

newly formed dedicated nuclear team

at the Energy Market Authority (EMA), said in an interview on Feb 6: “When people don’t have a good appreciation of our constraints when it comes to energy, they may not be able to appreciate why we are looking at other sources of energy, like imports or nuclear or even ammonia.”

Many Singaporeans understand the importance of water security in the resource-scarce nation, he said. But many may still not be aware of the nation’s energy sources or constraints.

Mr Chan noted that there are also misconceptions about energy sources in Singapore. For instance, some people think that solar energy is the main source of energy here, he noted.

Singapore now relies on natural gas, a fossil fuel, for about 95 per cent of its energy needs. Burning this fuel releases planet-warming emissions.

The Republic’s goal is to reach net-zero emissions – where the total amount of emissions is balanced by activities to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere – by 2050.

Achieving this would require the energy sector, which makes up about 40 per cent of the nation’s total emissions, to cut its emissions.

However, Singapore is an alternative energy disadvantaged country, with limited access to renewable energy options.

That is why the EMA has identified a number of pathways to ensure Singapore’s energy needs are met in a sustainable, resilient and cost-effective way.

These pathways include the continued use of natural gas, advancing solar deployment, importing clean energy and exploring emerging low-carbon alternatives.

Singapore’s exploration of nuclear energy is part of its quest to tap alternative fuels.

Mr Chan noted that many may still associate nuclear energy with past disasters like the Fukushima meltdown incident in 2011.

In 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan suffered a meltdown in the aftermath of a powerful earthquake and tsunami. The incident changed nuclear policy around the world, with countries like Germany choosing to phase out nuclear energy.

However, unlike those reactors that were built in the 1970s, Singapore is looking into advanced nuclear technologies such as small modular reactors, which have enhanced safety features that are considered to be significantly more reliable, Mr Chan said.

It is also important for the public to understand the benefits of nuclear energy, he said.

Besides being a low-carbon alternative energy that can help the nation reach its net-zero goals, Mr Chan said nuclear energy could also help to bolster energy security.

For example, unlike natural gas plants, which require continuous fuel imports, a nuclear power plant can operate for several years without refuelling, he noted.

This means that the Republic will have the flexibility to develop alternative routes if any supply chain breakdowns occur. Mr Chan said nuclear fuel could be stockpiled as it is a very energy-dense fuel.

“For natural gas, if it gets cut off today, then there may be an issue that we have to quickly look for other gas sources,” he said.

Mr Chan noted that nuclear energy plants may also offer more stable electricity prices as the lifetime costs of operating and maintaining such a plant are largely dominated by capital expenditure, such as building the required infrastructure.

This is compared with natural gas plants, where a large proportion of such lifetime costs revolves around variable costs, such as for fuel.

Experts have said that public confidence is one factor to successfully deploy nuclear energy.

In some countries, public concern over nuclear facilities has influenced decisions to shut down or restart plants. For example, in Italy and Germany, concern over potential health and environmental implications of nuclear power resulted in the decommissioning of operational nuclear facilities, even in the absence of direct accidents.

“If 90 per cent of the people don’t like (having a nuclear power plant) near their house, I think it will be a very hard conversation… if people don’t want it because they don’t understand it, I think it’s very hard to push the agenda,” said Mr Chan.

“That’s why we are spending a lot of time to educate people on this issue… our job here is to build public understanding so that they can come to their own logical conclusion when it comes to nuclear.”

He added that EMA is gauging the interest and level of understanding of the public on nuclear energy.

To further help improve public understanding on such energy and Singapore’s position on it, the Government in October 2025 released a background paper to provide an overview of the country’s interests, and the Government’s work on capability building in this area.

The paper, which highlights issues such as reasons for considering nuclear and its safety aspects, aims to contextualise Singapore’s efforts within regional and global decarbonisation and nuclear energy developments.