Should India consider phasing out nuclear power?

Source- The post is based on the article “Should India consider phasing out nuclear power?” published in “The Hindu” on 28th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS3- Energy

Relevance– Issues related to nuclear energy

News– The article explains the relevance of nuclear power for future energy needs.

What is the global scenario of nuclear energy?

The use of nuclear power is rising even in Europe and the U.S. China has been surging ahead on nuclear power.

South Korea’s new president has changed the energy policy and committed to increasing the share of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix to 30% by 2030.

Japan is restarting nuclear reactors. 10 have been restarted following years of inspection and upgrading safety systems.

The U.K. has said that without scaling up nuclear power, it won’t be possible to decarbonise the electricity sector.

What is the outlook for nuclear power, especially when solar and wind power are becoming far more popular?

Nuclear will have to be included in a mix of energy sources. It is firm, dispatchable power, while wind and solar are intermittent or variable. Some people say batteries will be the answer. But batteries are very expensive and have an environmental impact.

unless something can displace it entirely. There is no firm alternative to coal power to date.

Resistance to nuclear energy is also driven by fears about safety, nuclear proliferation. Some of those remain, but a lot has been diminished, partly post-Ukraine. The nuclear industry is moving towards ‘passive safety’ designs.

Older designs required active cooling pumps. But, new systems will gradually and gracefully control temperature, even if power fails. There are also coal mine disasters, transport disasters, and local air pollution.

Another challenge is cost. That is an area of worry, because of cost overruns. But now there are new designs like small modular reactors. There is a belief that this will address the cost structure quite a bit.

What are safety issues regarding radioactivity from spent fuels and nuclear liability issues?

One of the things that need to be realised is the amount of fuel. Kudankulam requires only 25 tonnes of low enriched uranium fuel over a year.

Compared to it, coal plants of similar capacity require approximately five million tonnes of coal, and coal produces ash. Power plants in the country have huge ash ponds. Ash also contains many heavy metals, which are detrimental to the water source.

Regarding nuclear liability, it is not money. But in case of an accident, the supplier of components to the nuclear plant is exposed to various liabilities, including criminal liability. That is something which basically no Western company will accept.

What are the steps needed to be taken for proper use of nuclear energy potential in India?

India has very limited growth potential for hydropower because of conserving biodiversity and the costs of rehabilitating and compensating landowners.

The alternative to coal is nuclear power. India has 210 gigawatts of coal capacity, and it produces 73% of electricity of India. Nuclear is only around 3.2%. Business as usual cannot continue.

One of the major reasons for the lack of growth in nuclear power is because of monopoly. All reactors are operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. There is a need for a civilian nuclear programme.

Other government companies like the NTPC should be allowed to produce nuclear power. To achieve ‘net zero’ by 2070, there is a need for 100 gigawatts by 2050.

There is a need for a combination of small modular reactors and large reactors, but it cannot be done by one company. It has to be done by multiple companies.

What is the way forward for the energy sector in India?

There is a need for a range of options. Energy is not going to be the one thing that solves all our problems. It’s going to be a mix of supply side and demand side. There is a need for a portfolio of technologies within the nuclear sector and outside the nuclear sector.

The energy policy should be about enabling frameworks for all technologies. It should not be a bet for one technology.