The Hindu Business Line : `Nuclear plants' contribution to global energy needs could be substantial'

(From left) Dr S. Banerjee, Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Dr Yuri Sokolov, Deputy Director-General, Department of Nuclear Energy, IAEA, and Mr John Ritch, Director- General, World Nuclear Association, at the Characterisation & Quality Control of Nuclear Fuels -2005 conference in Hyderabad on Wednesday. — K. Ramesh Babu

Hyderabad , Nov. 9

THE global liability for decommissioning of nuclear power plants is a staggering $1,000 billion at present, according to Dr Yuri Sokolov, Deputy Director-General, Department of Nuclear Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The positive side of it is that there are proven technologies to decommission the ageing nuclear plants and the necessary funds are in place, he told an international conference on `Characterisation & Quality Control of Nuclear Fuels (CQCNF-2005)', here on Wednesday.

Dr Sokolov said, at the end of 2004, 440 nuclear power plants were operational. A small number of these are aged and need to go in for decommissioning in the near future.

The three-day conference is being hosted by the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) .

Worldwide, the nuclear industry was upbeat. In 2004, nuclear plants added 7,529 MWe to the electricity grid. With an installed capacity of 370 GWe, nuclear power contributed 16 per cent of the total power generated during 2004, the IAEA Deputy Director-General said.

Global energy forecasts estimate that 4,800 GWe of power is required by 2030 to meet the world's needs, with an investment of $10 trillion. This has to come from all forms of energy, and nuclear stands a good chance of contributing substantially, Dr Sokolov said.

Asia has emerged as the centre for the construction of new nuclear plants. Fifteenof the 25 new plants underway are in Japan, Korea, India, China and Taiwan. This trend seems right because, of the 1.8 billion people with no access to electricity, 80 per cent are in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Director-General of the World Nuclear Association , Mr John Ritch, said 10 years ago the term `nuclear renaissance' conveyed only a cautious hope within a narrow community of dedicated professionals. Today, the rebirth of nuclear energy has become an unmistakable reality and is gathering speed and momentum.

He said the World Bank, the United Nations and the UN Environment Programme should develop a global vision of `clean energy', with nuclear power as the core. India, he felt, can play a key role in shaping the views of these three world bodies.

Mr Ritch also welcomed the recent Indo-US nuclear deal and felt that the two countries should take the co-operation forward. They should work to ensure that nuclear non-proliferation regime is strengthened rather than weakened and to cooperate in realising the potential of nuclear power to achieve global clean energy revolution.

Dr S. Banerjee, Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre , said if India's nuclear power programme had to go beyond the 10,000 MWe capacity, it needs to accelerate the Fast Breeder and Advanced Heavy Water Reactor stages, which use thorium, found abundantly in the country, or rely on imports for the present Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors.

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