Nuclear power generation will increase 10-fold by 2022

The nuclear electricity generating capacity of India would increase about 10-fold from the present 2.7 GW to 29 GW by 2022, said Srikumar Banerjee, director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and member, Atomic Energy Commission.

Though the modest deposits of uranium (about 60,000 tonnes) cannot take the maximum installable capacity beyond 10 GW, large deposits of thorium "� 3,60,000 to 5,20,000 tonnes "� in the country would see India achieve a sustainable nuclear power generating capacity by 2040 as envisaged in the three-stage Indian nuclear programme, asserted Banerjee.

Banerjee was delivering the inaugural address at an international conference on 'Characterisation and Quality Control of Nuclear Fuels' which commenced here on Wednesday.

The three-day conference is being organised by the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, with sponsorship from the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS).

Explaining the scientific basis for the Indian nuclear programme to an august gathering of experts and delegates from various countries, Banerjee said the first stage envisaged use of uranium and power generation primarily through pressurised heavy water reactors (PWHRs) and the spent material to build up inventory for the second stage "� fast-breeder reactors (FBRs).

The third stage envisages use of thorium and the inventory generated through the previous two stages, he said. The second fast-breeder reactor of 500mw capacity using mixed oxide (MOX) fuel is under construction at Kalpakkam.

Addressing the gathering, Yuri Sokolov, deputy director-general, department of nuclear energy, IAEA, said the world would need an additional 4,800 GW of electricity at a cost of $10 trillion by 2030 as the consumption has increased by 2.5 per cent. He said the present nuclear power generation capacity in the world stood at a little more than 370 GW.

The Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), an industrial arm of the Department of Atomic Energy, manufactures natural and enriched uranium oxide fuel assemblies for all the water-cooled nuclear power reactors that include 13 pressurised heavy water reactors (PWHRs) and two boiling water reactors (BWRs) currently operating at Rawabatta, Kalpakkam, Narora, Kakarpar, Kaiga and Tarapur.

The conference is being attended by 150 delegates, including 30 experts from Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Korea, Russia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, USA and Vietnam.