Can Nuclear Energy

Provide Answer To
India's Energy Security

History Of Nuclear Energy In India

1998: India detonates both fission
and fusion devices.
2006: President Bush declares
India a Nuclear Power
1956: Negotiates with US and
Canada for nuclear reactor.
1963: Two research reactors
and four nuclear plants in
operation.
1968: India refuses to sign
Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty.

1947: India becomes Independent.

1948: Atomic Energy Commission
Established.

1974: India performs 15kt

Peaceful Nuclear Explosion.
US & Canada suspend their
nuclear cooperation with India.
Nuclear Supplier's Group
formed

2008: NSG approves

trade with India USIndia Nuclear deal
signed.
2013: Kudankulam unit
I was connected to grid.

Indias Nuclear Energy Scenario

India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power

program and expects to have 14,600 MWe nuclear capacity on line
by 2020. It aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power
by 2050.

Because India is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due

to its weapons program, it was for 34 years largely excluded from
trade in nuclear plant or materials, which has hampered its
development of civil nuclear energy until 2009.

Due to these trade bans and lack of indigenous uranium, India has
uniquely been developing a nuclear fuel cycle to exploit its
reserves of thorium.

Now, foreign technology and fuel are expected to boost India's

nuclear power plans considerably. All plants will have high
indigenous engineering content.

India's operating nuclear power

reactors
Reactor

State

Type

MWe net, each

Commercial operation

Tarapur 1&2

Maharashtra

BWR

150

1969

Kaiga 1&2

Karnataka

PHWR

202

1999-2000

Kaiga 3&4

Karnataka

PHWR

202

2007, (due 2012)

Kakrapar 1&2

Gujarat

PHWR

202

1993-95

Madras 1&2 (MAPS)

Tamil Nadu

PHWR

202

1984-86

Narora 1&2

Uttar Pradesh

PHWR

202

1991-92

Rajasthan 1

Rajasthan

PHWR

90

1973

Rajasthan 2

Rajasthan

PHWR

187

1981

Rajasthan 3&4

Rajasthan

PHWR

202

1999-2000

Rajasthan 5&6

Rajasthan

PHWR

202

Feb & April 2010

Tarapur 3&4

Maharashtra

PHWR

490

2006, 05

Kudankulam 1

Tamil Nadu

PWR

917

(11/2013)

Total (21)

5302 MWe

India's nuclear power reactors

under construction
Reactor

Type

Kudankulam 2 PWR (VVER)

MWe gross,
net,
each

Project
control

1000, 917

NPCIL

July 2002

3/2014

Construction Commercial
start
operation due

Kalpakkam
PFBR

FBR

500, 470

Bhavini

Oct 2004

(9/2014 startup) 2015

Kakrapar 3

PHWR

700, 630

NPCIL

Nov 2010

June 2015

Kakrapar 4

PHWR

700, 630

NPCIL

March 2011

Dec 2015

Rajasthan 7

PHWR

700, 630

NPCIL

July 2011

June 2016

Rajasthan 8

PHWR

700, 630

NPCIL

Sept 2011

Dec 2016

Total (6)

4300 MWe
gross

Three Stage Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Because of Indias lack of uranium recourses, every effort has

been made to draw as much power as possible out of the
uranium they do have. Using a combination of their Advanced
Heavy Water Reactor and Fast Breeder Reactors, the Indian
program is able to reprocess this fuel.

After the uranium is run through the AHWR once, it is sent to a

fast breeder reactor and used to produce energy once again.

The plutonium which is extracted from the fast breeders is then

used in the AHWR with thorium as the main fuel.

At the end of the third reaction, the nuclear waste is much less in
volume and in a far less hazardous form.

Safety Features of the Indian

Thorium Advanced Heavy
Water Reactor Design

The Indian thorium fuelled Advanced Heavy Water Reactor has been
designed with safety as a top priority.

It has several innovative and passive safety features that would

effectively shut down the reactor in the event of any foreseeable
accident.

Along with the conventional active shutdown capabilities such as

scramming or flooding the reactor with coolant, the reactor also has
several passive shutdown systems that will automatically activate
in the event of a hot shutdown, prolonged shutdown, or loss of
coolant accident.

During normal operation, coolant is circulated by natural convection

instead of pumps, so a loss of power will not cause a loss of coolant.

Safety Features of the Indian

Thorium Advanced Heavy
Water Reactor Design

If a loss of coolant accident did happen, the rising temperature

would cause the automatic release of a reactor poison into the
system, that would kill the reaction.

If this system were to fail, and the temperature continued to rise,

the large gravity driven water pool at the top of the reactor
building would automatically start flooding the bottom the
reactor cavity, effectively submersing the whole reactor core.

If the reaction rate continues to increase, there is enough coolant

to keep the reaction in check for 72 hours, more than enough
time for the operator to step in and manually shut down the
reactor.

Safety Features of the Indian

Thorium Advanced Heavy
Water Reactor Design

Why India Might Fail In Its

Ambition

Nuclear power is a complex and difficult technology and it is not easy

to develop it very rapidly.

In India, each reactor took longer to build, cost more than projected,
and performed worse than had been envisaged when plans were
made. There were problems that had not been envisioned when the
site was selected, leading to delays in construction and reduced
efficiency in operations.

In the future, however, construction and operation might fare worse

because India plans to import a new reactor type: light water reactors.

Apart from the fact that these are incredibly expensive compared to
domestic Indian designs and would make nuclear electricity
uncompetitive, further problem is that Indian safety regulators have
no experience with these.

Why India Might Fail In Its

Ambition

Even the thorium-based breeders which the World Nuclear family is

considering to be of high importance, doesnt feature in future
plans of DAE until 2052.

This is primarily because of difficulties in dealing with the highly

radioactive contaminant uranium-232 that is produced along with
uranium-233, the fissile material produced from fertile thorium.

DAEs projections have simply not accounted properly for the

future availability of plutonium, because it has not included in its
calculations the lag period between the time a certain amount of
plutonium is committed to a breeder reactor and when it reappears
along with additional plutonium for refuelling the same reactor,
thus contributing to the start-up fuel for a new breeder reactor.

Why India Might Fail In Its

Ambition

And the most important reason why nuclear power might fail in India
is because it is expensive.

India as a country not only requires electricity but wants it a cheap

price.

Future reactors, both imported light water reactors as well as fast

breeder reactors, promise to be much more expensive, which will
make electricity generated in these unaffordable to the weaker
sections of society.

Finally, there has been significant opposition to every new nuclear

reactor that has been planned since the 1980s, most dramatically
illustrated by the intense protests over the Kudankulam reactors. In
addition to concerns about safety or radioactive waste, opposition to
nuclear facilities also stems from their impact on lives and livelihoods

THANK YOU

So it is upto you to decide on:

Can Nuclear Energy Provide Answer To India's
Energy Security