S.

Mohan Krishna Section A Roll No 1226111137 Nuclear Energy in India Summary The total nuclear power capacity in India is 4,385MW.The share of nuclear power in the total electricity generated in India is 2.85% which is very low. USA topped the list followed by France and India ranked 15th out of 29 countries operating nuclear power which is also a low performance. In the next two decades an installed capacity of 63000MW is projected by the integrated policy of the country, from the present installed capacity of 4,385MW. IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency)Report in October 2011 on Thorium fuel indicates that India might have the third largest reserves of Thorium in the world, with over 650,000tonnes which is the future resource for nuclear power. While the main debated problem regarding nuclear power installation is protests by local public because of fear factor. Introduction India expecting electricity generation of 950,000MW which is more than five times that of present electricity generation. So the need for energy resources are increased at the same time unfortunately Type-0 fuels will be completely vanished by 2040. So need for alternative energy resources has increased. The Integrated Energy Policy 2010 of the country projects generation capacity to raise the per capita electricity consumption from 700Kwh to about 3,800Kwh by the year 2032. And also due to international pressure for green house gas reduction in atmosphere there is a need of clean energy supply for energy security and sustainable development. The nuclear energy is a sustainable solution in this context to overcome the environmental problem due to fossil fuel electricity generation. So nuclear power is the ideal choice to meet Indias requirements, In fact 30%-40% of energy generation in the developing nations is by nuclear energy. In 2008 India and the nuclear suppliers group agreed on a waiver to the embargo on trade in nuclear technology. India is facing great challenges in its economic development due to the impact on climate change. Energy is the important driver of economyOn the other hand nuclear power provides a relatively clean, high density source of reliable energy with international presence. There is no doubt that nuclear power is superior along three dimensions namely energy density, improved quality of living and the economic benefits. So there is huge role for nuclear energy in India.

Nuclear Energy in India The Department of Atomic Energy is mandated to increase the share of nuclear power using both indigenous and other proven technologies, and also developing fast breeder reactors and thorium reactors with associated fuel-cycle facilities. The signing of the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in October 2008 has opened up opportunities for the growth of nuclear power in the country. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.( NPCIL), the only nuclear power generating company in the country, aims to increase its installed capacity from 4,120 MW to 21,000 MW in the next five years, but GoI policy prohibits foreign direct investment in nuclear power plants.( Manpreet Sethi, 2010) Demand and Supply The 17th Electric Power Survey conducted by central electricity authority forecasts a peak demand growth of 9% for the period up to the end of the XI Plan (2011-12) against actual achievement of 5.3%. In 2009, CRISIL research a global research and analytical company providing researchs and advices estimated that roughly $160 billion would likely be invested in the power sector by 2014. About $100 billion would be in generation, with nearly half of that from private investors. Spikes in power demand from the agricultural sector are forcing state governments to increase load shedding in the summer months. For example, the power deficit in state of Punjab is so severe that it has mandated a one-day-per-week power cut for the steel manufacturing industry, which could be extended to two days if the situation remains unchanged. Plans for increased capacity and power management initiatives are being explored to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of electricity to customers. (Subash Mallah, 2010) Indias Current Nuclear Potential and Standing Indias current nuclear installed capacity is 4,385MW. This serves 2.85% of the countrys energy needs. The ban on India from the NSG group was lifted on September 2008 when Washington pushed through a waiver that freed India from 34 years of sanctions. The civil nuclear cooperation agreement have been signed with the USA, Russia, France, UK and Canada, as well as Argentina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Namibia. Russia is reported to have offered a 30% discount on the $2-billion price tag for each of the phase2 Kudankulam reactors. This is based on the plans to start a serial production of reactors for the Indian nuclear industry, with much of these
2

equipments and components proposed to be manufactured in India, thereby bringing down costs. As of 2010, India has 20 nuclear reactors in operation in six nuclear power plants, generating 4,780 MW while seven other reactors are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 5,300 MW (A.P.J Abdul Kalam, 2011) The 123 Agreement The 123 agreement (Indo-US) in August 2008, ended Indias isolation from global atomic commerce and opened up its foreign market for foreign players, but the system cannot be implemented until India put in place a compensation regime that limited the liability of private companies in case of an accident. This gave birth to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010, which stipulates the compensation burden on the state-run reactor operator, the liability of the federal government and the responsibility of private suppliers and contractors. The bill is very important for foreign players to enter the Indian market, because if such a bill is not in place, then the compensation claims from a nuclear accident can be enough to bankrupt a private company. The cap has been finally set to $320 million for the operator and $450 million by the government (Tinu Mario Mathew, 2010) Other Issues There is huge fear factor building in public regarding the safety of nuclear power plants which is turning as main challenge for nuclear power in India and public hearing was also not held, due to this Kundakulam of Tamilnadu and Kovvada of Andhra Pradesh are strongly protested by local people there. Local public concern about nuclear power is going to be the biggest challenge for nuclear plants in India Business Environment Nuclear power today accounts for 15 per cent of global electricity generation and the world now has more than half a centurys experience in handling this technology which is equivalent to over 14,000 reactor years expertise and confidence in the area has steadily grown. So there is huge scope for investors in Nuclear Power in India. And India have already got into a lot of agreements with different countries like Canada, Russia, USA etc to improve and develop our technology and efficiently utilize the nuclear resources. The power sector ranked sixth among the leading sectors
3

of the Indian economy, attracting $4.6 billion in FDI since 2000, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industrys Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. Adding in the electrical equipment sector, the total rises to $6.8 billion. FDI in petroleum and natural gas totaled $2.7 billion for the period, ranking that sector ninth in foreign investment. Restrictions on FDI in coal production caused that sector to rank 54th, with just $15.6 million for the decade.Still there is a huge scope for domestic and international players to enter into the market and to meet the Indias energy deficit. (A.P.J Abdul Kalam, 2011) Recent Developments The Indian nuclear power industry is expected to undergo a significant expansion in the coming years. The Indo-US agreement will allow India to carry out trade of nuclear fuel and technologies with other countries and significantly enhance its power generation capacity. When the agreement goes through, India is expected to generate an additional 25,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020, bringing total estimated nuclear power generation to 45,000 MW. And some of the recent approved sites are Kovvada, Haripur, Chutka, Jaitapur, Gorakhpur. Between 2010 and 2020, further construction is expected to take total gross capacity to 21,180 MWe. The nuclear capacity target is part of national energy policy. This planned increment includes those set out in the Table below including the initial 300 MWe Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). The benchmark capital cost sanctioned by DAE for imported units is quoted at $1600 per kilowatt. In late 2008 NPCIL announced that as part of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12), it would start site work for 12 reactors including the rest of the eight PHWRs of 700 MWe each, three or four fast breeder reactors and one 300 MWe advanced heavy water reactor in 2009. NPCIL said that "India is now focusing on capacity addition through indigenisation" with progressively higher local content for imported designs, up to 80%. Looking further ahead its augmentation plan included construction of 25-30 light water reactors of at least 1000 MWe by 2030. (S K Jain, 2011) Comparison of Nuclear Power Plants When the cost analysis of a standard 1000MW nuclear power compared to a thermal power plant is done, the amount of coal consumed by a thermal power plant is 2.86mn tones and co 2 emitted by this coal is 8.37mn tones due to this death attributable is 401 per year and also causing a economic
4

loss of $83.7mn per year because of climate change mitigation. Whereas in the case of nuclear power 52 tonnes of uranium is sufficient to cater the same energy created by thermal plant and lives saved per year is 401 and economic savings of $83.7mn every year.(A.P.J Abdul Kalam, 2011) Environmental Consciousness If the growing Indian economy continues to rely on traditional thermal energy sources, carbon emissions would significantly rise and environmental consequences like greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change would progressively become a serious cause for concern. As is evident, nuclear power emits the least amount of greenhouse gases bettered only by wind energy. Given these figures, it is obvious that the strategies and technologies adopted by countries with large energy requirements will have critical implications for local and global environment. At present, Indias per capita carbon emissions stand at 11.2 tonnes19 compared to 20tonnes per capita in the US.20 With continued urbanization, a shift from noncommercial to commercial fuels, increased use of motorized vehicles, and prolonged use of older and inefficient coal-fired power plants, Indias emissions are expected to increase and nearly triple by 2030.In fact, according to the US Department of Energy, between 2001 and 2025, Indias carbon emissions will grow by 3 per cent annually, twice the predicted emissions growth in the US, making India the third largest air polluter after the US and China by 2015.(A.P.J Abdul Kalam, 2011) Conclusion There is a need for better technology and more stable design across the world but the occurrence of four failures in six decades cannot be made out as a case for completely disbanding the technology. The energy security and sustainable development is the prime focus nowadays for the countries of the world. There has been a lot of issue associated with nuclear power and how safe it is, but with the development of new, safe and advanced technology the future for this everlasting source of energy seems very bright India needs to start considering nuclear as an important alternative because this is not in the least due to exceptionally good energy policies and practices but due to the fact that a large proportion of the India is denied access to power. So to overcome this Nuclear energy is the one of the major sources of power, so that the right mix is developed and India as a developing nation are able to meet the demands for our generations to come.
5

References

1. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, 2011, Nuclear power is our gateway to a prosperous future, The

Hindu, November 6 2. Manpreet Sethi, (2010) The Nuclear Energy Imperative http://www.idfc.com/pdf/report/Chapter-14.pdf 3. S K Jain, (2011), Nuclear Power: Poised for big leap The Hindu Survey of Indian Industry 2011 4. Subash Mallah,2010 Nuclear energy option for energy security and sustainable development in India October 2010, Madras Institute of Technology http://india.mit.edu/~varun_ag/readinggroup/images/d/db/Nuclear_Energy_Option.pdf 5. Tinu Mario Mathew, Dec 2010, Nuclear Energy in India, Institute of Energy Management and Research

http://www.iemr.in/userfiles/Nuclear%20Energy%20in%20India.pdf