BS Number Wise: In India's coal crisis, a question about nuclear power

India plans 10 atomic power facilities, joining some other nations in reviewing an alternative fuel that is cheaper and cleaner

India’s coal-based power plants produce more than half of its electricity, but the fuel is polluting and the logistics to transport it quickly in peak demand daunting. As the country considers other fuels, can nuclear energy be a long-term solution?

The government said in March that it will next year begin work in Karnataka on a new nuclear power reactor, moving ahead on plans announced earlier for ten such facilities.

Britain and Belgium, too, are reviewing nuclear power for energy security. The rethink reverses a decade-long global slowdown after Japan’s Fukushima atomic plant accident in 2011.

Global nuclear power