Small & Green Future – That India needs more nuclear power generation is not in doubt. But it should rely less on big plants

Source: The post is based on the article “Small & Green Future – That India needs more nuclear power generation is not in doubt. But it should rely less on big plants” published in The Times of India on 11th April 2023.

Syllabus: GS – 3: Energy.

Relevance: About the need for small modular reactors(SMRs).

News: India, by 2047, aims to produce 9% of its electricity from nuclear power, up from the current 3%. By 2031, installed nuclear power capacity is set to increase from 6,780 MW to 22,480 MW with 20 new nuclear plants. In that process, ten new reactors were approved recently.

About the nuclear power plants around the world

Rich countries that have had 20 years of nuclear power generation. A 2019 IAEA report of nuclear plants’ age-profile highlighted the challenges of ‘nuclear fade’.

Note: Nuclear fade means the nations are giving up on nuclear power as plants age and costs rise.

About 83% of plants across Europe are over 30 years old, in the US more than 90% are over 30. Though nuclear plants had licences for decades more, several retired early. This stalls the transition to non-carbon energy. 

In contrast, almost 80% of China’s plants are less than 10 years old; the corresponding number for India is 40%.

What does India need to do while planning nuclear power plants?

India should move away from big plants and plans small modular reactors (SMRs), which are typically under 300MW in capacity.

The major advantages of SMRs are a) though SMRs only generate a third of a nuclear plant’s power, many can be built since the smaller investment is easier to mobilise, b) SMRs are reportedly safer in design and simpler to construct and require much less land. They are therefore easier propositions to sell to locals, c) They could reduce costs by enabling prefabrication of reactor units in factories, which would yield scale economies, and d) They could also be installed in existing sites of coal-based power plants that are to be phased out in the country’s transition to net zero.

According to the IAEA, SMRs’ economic viability in operational settings is not proven. But India’s huge electricity demand, need for non-carbon energy, net zero commitment can be aided significantly with SMRs.