Nuclear power is economical and environment-friendly.

THE INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL will help India accelerate its pace of expanding installed nuclear capacity. If all goes according to plan, India might soon be able to import nuclear fuel and even reactors. More significantly, however, the deal allows India’s nuclear programme to proceed virtually unfettered. And that’s important because the nuclear pathway that the nation chose to walk decades ago continues to be the most potent long-term energy option even today.

India might find itself forced to move away from traditional fossil fuels a lot sooner than anticipated. Coal currently contributes to nearly 67 per cent of India’s total energy source. A Planning Commission panel, however, has warned that at an increased production rate of five per cent, the nation’s coal reserves will be exhausted in about 40 years. And international energy analysts have predicted that India’s dependence on oil imports will rise to 91 per cent by the year 2020. Non-conventional energy sources like solar, wind and biomass, while holding significant promise, are not economical. They need to be pursued with vigour, but the huge cost for mass power generation makes such renewable sources untenable for energy security.

Nuclear energy fits the bill of an economical source of energy that has the potential to keep pace with the demands of an energy-hungry nation. Nuclear electricity has been shown to be comparable in costs to other sources of electricity. Despite the high cost of constructing nuclear power plants, it’s still economical because nuclear fuels are cheaper than fossil fuels most of the time.

Secondly, the very nature of nuclear fuels makes them more feasible. Whereas fossil fuels are the feedstocks for producing plastics and organic chemicals, uranium has little value for other purposes. And with breeder reactors, there are enough reserves to satisfy India’s energy needs for a long time to come. Nuclear power is also more environment friendly. Hydro-power plants mean dams and displaced people. Burning coal contributes to global warming and environmental toxins. Studies have indicated that the wastes from coal burning include carcinogens like beryllium, cadmium, arsenic and nickel.

Radioactive wastes are small in volume and thus can be easily disposed of. Moreover, nuclear power does away with greenhouse emissions. While India has limited uranium reserves, the nuclear power programme is ultimately aimed at exploiting the nation’s vast thorium reserves. Calculations suggest that breeders that will turn thorium into fissile uranium and new generations of uranium-burning reactors could meet India’s energy demands for at least a couple of centuries to come.