INDIA INVESTING IN NUCLEAR POWER TO PROVIDE CLEAN ELECTRICITY

TOPIC: Environment

Context- The Government of India has undertaken a nuclear power expansion programme to provide the country with clean electricity.

India is pursuing an indigenous three-stage nuclear power programme. Besides, light water reactors based on foreign cooperation are also being set up as additionalities.

Concept-

The actual commercial generation of nuclear energy has increased to 43,918 million units in 2021, from 34,162 million units in 2014.
The share of nuclear energy in the total electricity generation in the country has remained around 3-3.5 per cent since 2014.

India’s Three-Stage Nuclear Power Programme:

India’s three-stage nuclear power programme was formulated by Homi Bhabha in the 1950s to secure the country’s long term energy independence, through the use of uranium and thorium reserves found in the monazite sands of coastal regions of South India.

Stage 1- Pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR): The first stage involved using natural uranium to fuel PHWR to produce electricity and Plutonium-239 as a byproduct.
- Also the byproduct plutonium-293 would be used in the second stage.
Stage 2- Fast breeder reactor (FBR): The second stage involves using plutonium-239 to produce fuel, which would be used in Fast Breeder Reactors. Plutonium 239 undergoes fission to produce energy. Once a sufficient amount of plutonium-239 is built up, thorium will be used in the reactor, to produce Uranium-233. This uranium is crucial for the third stage.
Stage 3- Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR): The main purpose of stage-3 is to achieve a sustainable nuclear fuel cycle.
- The advance nuclear system would be used a combination of Uranium-233 and Thorium.
- Thorium absorbs the neutrons, which can more efficiently produce more Plutonium in Fast Breeder Reactor for a faster growth.
Thus, the ultimate objective of the above programme is to create capacity to use Thorium for sustainable production of nuclear energy and make India energy independent.