Mains Marathon

• Define Firm renewable energy
• Briefly discuss the India’s three stage Nuclear Power Programme and India’s potential for Nuclear Energy
• Conclude by stating the potential for India in Nuclear energy

Answer

Firm renewable energy means renewable energy that is always available and capable of being continuously produced at its contracted capacity twenty-four hours per day, three hundred sixty-five days per year, subject only to routine maintenance [and], availability of fuel, or emergency repairs.

India’s Nuclear Energy Program

India has consciously proceeded to explore the possibility of tapping nuclear energy for the purpose of power generation. In this direction a three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Homi Bhabha in the 1950s.

Three Stage programme

Stage one – Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor uses Natural UO2 as fuel matrix, Heavy water as moderator and coolant. In the reactor, the first two plants were boiling water reactors based on imported technology. India achieved complete self- reliance in this technology and this stage of the programme is in the industrial domain. MOX fuel (Mixed oxide) is developed and introduced at Tarapur to conserve fuel and to develop new fuel technology.

Second stage envisages the use of Pu-239 obtained from the first stage reactor operation, as the fuel core in fast breeder reactors (FBR).

Third phase is breeder reactors using U-233 fuel. India’s vast thorium deposits permit design and operation of U-233 fuelled breeder reactors. Utilisation of Thorium in the third stage makes it available as a sustainable energy resource for centuries. Thorium is also excellent fuel performance characteristic in a reactor, better than Uranium with respect to lower inventory of long-lived nuclear waste.

Reserves of Thorium in India:

According to the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), a constituent Unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India has 10.70 million tonnes of Monazite which contains 9,63,000 tonnes of Thorium Oxide (ThO2). The country's thorium reserves make up 25 per cent of the global reserves. It can easily be used as a fuel to cut down on the import of Uranium from different countries.

Potential for India in generating Nuclear Power

Nearly 65 percent of the electricity in India is generated in thermal power plants. India produces 22 percent electricity from hydroelectric power plants and only 3 per cent electricity, comes from nuclear power plants.

Inspite the huge reserves of thorium, India do not have the technology to use thorium. Nuclear Fusion power is seen as an important part of India’s long-term energy supply. Nuclear fusion promises clean, unlimited power but it has yet to overcome the technical challenges of harnessing such extreme amounts of energy.

India can take help from different advance countries to develop nuclear energy such as from France which is famous for its project ITER. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is the largest nuclear fusion reactor of its kind in the world. ITER is a type of magnetic fusion reactor called a tokamak, designed to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale energy source with no carbon emissions. It can help in achieving its target for Net Zero emissions by 2070.

Thus, India has the potential to develop clean nuclear energy without dependence to other countries for its fuel as it can use its huge reserves of thorium and become leader in nuclear energy sector. India’s fusion community is now looking forward to construction of a large tokamak based fusion reactor called SST-2, due by around 2027.