The Hindu Business Line : Uranium import can stave off looming energy crisis: Kakodkar

Bangalore, July 5 Even as the issues surrounding the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement peaked into a national political crisis, the Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, Dr Anil Kakodkar, highlighted how uranium import — the key outcome of such a deal — would stave off a grave Indian energy crisis by 2050.

Without directly referring to the agreement, Dr Kakodkar said at a lecture in Bangalore that the Department of Atomic Energy had estimated that the country would have an energy deficit of 412 GWe in the next 42 years at the per capita consumption rate of 5000 kwh a year. This cannot be met even after using all available domestic energy resources.

Of all the non-coal based energy options, nuclear energy was the best bet but the country’s ongoing nuclear programme badly needed to import uranium or reactors, which is possible only if the country signs the international cooperation agreement.

“History will not forgive us” if this is not done now, the AEC Chief said, without naming the deal.

Energy gap

“If India is unable to import nuclear reactors or nuclear fuel under international cooperation it must necessarily go for the import of coal to the tune of 1.6 billion tonnes in 2050 alone, unless solar capacity grows at even large levels.” Subjecting a large country to the vagaries of such large coal imports on a regular basis would have shocking economic effects, he said.

According to Dr Kakodkar, the projected energy gap in 2050 can be bridged if 40-GWe capacity LWRs (light water reactors) are imported during 2012-20. The spent fuel from these LWRs would be used to launch a series of FBRs (fast breeder reactors), and that would practically wipe out the deficit in 2050.

“In case this import is delayed by a decade, the energy deficit by 2050 would be 178 GWe; and the coal import need would go up to 0.7 billion tonnes — or twice the annual coal needed today.”

Domestic reserves

The country’s nuclear fuel reserves are estimated at 61,000 tonnes of uranium and more than 2.25 lakh tonnes of thorium. Dr Kakodkar said the ten nuclear reactors were operating at half their capacity for want of fuel.

India has one of the largest and best-quality reserves of thorium. Indian atomic scientists want to introduce thorium-based fuel in their FBRs — but this needs plutonium to kick-start the fission. Research is on to use thorium without uranium. Development of thorium-based reactors has been put on high priority.

The AEC chief was delivering a lecture on ‘Evolving Indian nuclear programme — rationale and perspective’ organised by the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Dr Kakodkar said, “It is obvious that with the import of LWRs or PHWRs (pressurised heavy water reactors) or uranium and an additionality in nearer term, India can achieve full energy independence in a shorter time.”

At the same time, DAE was “leaving no stone unturned” to find new uranium deposits — such as its efforts in Cuddapah basin, Mahadek basin in Meghalaya, the New Delhi fold belt, and in Rajasthan and Haryana. Construction of a 500-MWe prototype FBR was in full swing and its economics were being improved.

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