Explore the potential of nuclear power

The US has given a clean chit to India's nuclear programme. This paves the way for increased fuel assistance to India's atomic power generation.

Nuclear power, which accounts for just 3% of our total power generation of nearly 100,000 MW, has the potential to become the energy of the future. Till yesterday seen as a costly and even unsafe means of producing power, it has shot into focus as a viable alternative with oil prices ruling at $60 a barrel. With the Kyoto Protocol exerting pressure on carbon emissions, nuclear power can circumvent some of its provisions. The availability of enriched uranium with the implementation of disarmament treaties has also given a boost to nuclear power. What is the status of nuclear power worldwide? In the US, nuclear power accounts for 14% of total power consumption, as against 20-25% in Britain and Germany. In France, nuclear power meets almost all its energy needs. In India, nuclear power consumption quadrupled between 1981 and 2003, while thermal power consumption doubled and hydel power consumption actually fell over the period. India's power consumption, now about a sixth of the US, is projected to double by about 2015 in a high growth scenario. By 2020, the nuclear power programme is expected to create a capacity of 20,000 MW or just under 10% of India's requirements. Is this a plausible assumption?

Thermal power supplies four-fifths of India's power needs against 50% in the US. It continues to be a viable source of power for India despite the paucity of high-grade coal which tends to increase generation costs and pollute the environment. Hydel power accounts for 12-15% of our consumption but is not exactly a promising option. Hydel projects pose huge problems of displacement and resettlement as well as seismic dangers when located in new rock formations or near earthquake faultlines. They give rise to water-sharing disputes between neighbouring countries and states. Nuclear power entails forbidding capital and raw material costs, and runs on huge hidden subsidies, what with capacity utilisation in India at less than 50%. Besides, insiders have established that safety standards at Tarapore and elsewhere are shoddy. Unless these factors are addressed, India's nuclear programme will fail to play a major role in meeting the growing demand-supply gap despite US assistance. That would be a pity.