BHP chairman throws weight behind nuclear

The BHP Billiton chairman, Jac Nasser, has given nuclear power industry a boost, even though developments in Japan further dented confidence in the industry yesterday.

In a move criticised by business groups for being abrupt and political, the Japanese government called for the shutdown of three nuclear reactors in the town of Hamaoka, out of concern they were vulnerable to natural disasters.

The reactors are owned by Chubu Electric Power Company, a power generation company that buys liquefied natural gas from Queensland.

A review of Japan's nuclear reactors, commissioned after the earthquake in March and the Fukushima crisis that followed it, found there was an 87 per cent chance of a large earthquake hitting the Hamaoka area in the next 30 years.

The government asked Chubu to shut down the reactors until seawalls and other protective works could be built.

Chubu was still considering its options yesterday, but the request was enough to send the company's share price down 14 per cent, taking with it the shares of other companies, including Toyota, that rely on Chubu for power.

BHP plans to quadruple production of uranium at its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, at a cost of $30 billion.

Mr Nasser said that despite the Japanese concerns he was certain nuclear energy had a big future.

''I still think there is, inside of the whole energy mix solution for the world, a place for safe nuclear generation of power.''

It would be ''smart'' for Australia to consider adding nuclear power to its energy mix, which is largely dependent on coal.