Is Nuclear power the answer to India’s

energy deficit?
Energy crisis is one of the major problems that India is facing today, with the growing
energy demand. For meeting these energy demands India needs to have a power generation
mechanism that is capable of not only meeting the demand but also be friendly to the
environment. “Sustainable development” should be the prime driving force behind any
decision making process in this regard.

Some of the commonly used types of power generation are hydro power, wind power,
solar power, thermal power and nuclear power.

Hydro power is generated from water and it displaces water for the purpose of power
generation. The power generated is directly proportional to the availability of water. Though
water is a renewable source of energy, due to the scarcity and unpredictability of rainfall, this
source of power generation is not sufficient to meet the demand. Also many of the old dams
in India are at verge of an impending disaster and new dams are not getting the necessary
clearance/approval due to the environmental concerns.

Wind and solar power generation techniques are very clean but are very meagre
sources of power and cost of generation per unit is very expensive. There are only a few
specific places where in ,the windmills can be erected. Also the energy generated per day is
not a steady value, as it varies a lot based on the climatic conditions.

Thermal power generation using gas and coal will emit lot of carbon dioxide which
contributes to global warming and also lot of pollution. Not just that, coal is a non-renewable
source of energy and the quantity of coal required for power generation is high. For example,
A 1000 MW coal power station requires about 8,600,000 kg of coal per day, compared to 74
kg per day of uranium for the equivalent sized nuclear power plant.

This leaves us with nuclear power as the best solution for power generation. Our only
concern is the disposal of nuclear waste. This can be handled with appropriate technology.
The global nuclear leader is France, with nuclear power contributing to, nearly 80 percent of
the country’s electricity needs. France also exports huge amounts of nuclear power to
European neighbours, and its energy conglomerate, Areva, builds most nuclear power plants
worldwide. Indo-US civilian nuclear deal was a huge step in ending India’s nuclear isolation
and the current visit of French Prime Minister Nicholas Sarkozy will help a great deal in
getting the required nuclear fuel.

Nuclear power is achieved in two steps - fission (splitting) process and fusion
(merging together) process of nuclei of atoms. These processes release a huge amount of heat
energy, which is then converted into electricity. Generating nuclear power creates greatly
lowered carbon dioxide emissions, so this power source does not contribute to global
warming in large amounts. Another advantage to nuclear power is that the technology has
already been developed. Nuclear energy is reliable, and there are no worries about weather
conditions for the generation of power. Nuclear power is generated using Uranium, which is
much easier to get due to the fact that at least thirty five percent of the Uranium in the world
is located in politically stable areas, like Canada and Australia.

What puts most people off when they hear of nuclear power ,is the resulting radiations
that are extremely harmful for the lives of the people living around the plant. Nuclear waste
coming from nuclear power plants consists of highly radioactive elements, mainly strontium
90, cesium 137 and plutonium 239 and 240, as well as other less radioactive elements. One of
the most common ways to dispose of these highly radioactive wastes is to use devices similar
to water softeners called ion exchangers, which are either inorganic - mineral-type -
compounds or synthetically produced organic resins. An ion exchanger usually contains a
harmless element such as sodium, present in ordinary salt, which is exchanged for a harmful
element such as cesium 137, present in radioactive waste. The high-level wastes are then to
be immobilized in a special glass, placed inside steel drums and buried about 1,000 feet deep
in mines at designated sites. Thus today the technology is available to dispose of the waste in
a safe manner.

Submitted By,
Sreevas Sahasranamam
E-mail : mailsreevas@gmail.com
Nationality : India
Date of Birth : 25-09-1990