| Demand of the question Introduction. Contextual Introduction. Body. Three stage nuclear power program. Challenges in 3 stage program. Conclusion. Way forward. |
India’s three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Homi Bhabha in the 1950s to secure the country’s long term energy independence, through the use of uranium and thorium reserves found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India. The ultimate focus of the programme is on enabling the thorium reserves of India to be utilised in meeting the country’s energy requirements.
Three stage nuclear power program:
- Stage 1- Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR): The first stage involved using natural uranium to fuel PHWR to produce electricity and Plutonium-239 as a byproduct. PHWRs were chosen for the first stage because:
- In 1960s, India had the efficient reactor design in terms of uranium utilisation.
- Using Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors over Light Water Reactors was a correct and wise decision. While Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors used unenriched uranium, Light Water Reactors required enriched uranium.
- Further, India could domestically produce the components of PWHR, as opposed to LWRs. Also the byproduct plutonium-293 would be used in the second stage.
- Stage 2- Fast breeder reactor (FBR): The second stage involves using plutonium-239 to produce fuel, which would be used in Fast Breeder Reactors. Plutonium 239 undergoes fission to produce energy. Once a sufficient amount of plutonium-239 is built up, thorium will be used in the reactor, to produce Uranium-233. This uranium is crucial for the third stage.
- Stage 3- Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR): The main purpose of stage-3 is to achieve a sustainable nuclear fuel cycle.
- The advance nuclear system would be used a combination of Uranium-233 and Thorium.
- India has vast thorium which would be exploited, using a thermal breeder reactor.
- Thorium use was reserved for the last stage as despite of having significant availability, use of Thorium in production of energy has been full of certain challenges. It cannot be used directly.
- Thorium absorbs the neutrons, which can more efficiently produce more Plutonium in Fast Breeder Reactor for a faster growth.
- Thus, the ultimate objective of the above programme is to create capacity to use Thorium for sustainable production of nuclear energy and make India energy independent.
Challenges in 3 stage program:
- Foremost challenge of Nuclear technology is safety and waste management. Incidents like Chernobyl, Fukushima are serious cause of concern. If nuclear energy is generated adhering to the highest standards of safety, there is less possibility of catastrophic accidents.
- Availability of fissile material is also a cause of concern. Nuclear fuel is not available easily and need diplomatic efforts.
- Land acquisition and selection of location for Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is also major problem in the country. NPP’s like Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu have met with several delays due to the land acquisition related challenges.
- As India is not a signatory of NPT and NSG, nuclear supply is severely contained by sanctioned against India. This situation has changed after 2009 waiver and bilateral civil nuclear energy agreements with many countries.
- Reprocessing and enrichment capacity also required boost in India. For this India needs advanced technology to fully utilise the spent fuel and for enhancing its enrichment capacity.
To ensure the safety and security of using nuclear power there is need toensure maintenance of the skills base, continued effective safety regulation. Fostering progress on facilities for waste disposal and management must be given serious consideration. It is also important to maintain and reinforce international non-proliferation arrangements.
