Deployment of nuclear power can enable timely net-zero: Nuclear scientist Kakodkar - Deccan Herald
Deployment of nuclear power can enable timely net-zero: Nuclear scientist Kakodkar
Mumbai: Rapid deployment of nuclear capacity in India can address the dual challenge of meeting development aspirations on one side and enabling timely net-zero on the other, according to veteran nuclear scientist Dr Anil Kakodkar, the former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
“It can be a game changer to achieve the aspirations of being developed country,” Kakodkar said on the occasion of National Science Day and unveiling a book - Climate Change, Clean Energy Transition, Energy Options, and Relevance of Nuclear Power - curated by the authors Prof Arun Nayak, Dr Samyak Munot and Prof Jyeshtharaj Joshi.
The book highlights and recognises the limitations of renewable energy sources in meeting India's burgeoning energy needs and the future role of nuclear power for mitigating the adverse impact of climate change and global warming. It emphasises that nuclear power can play a vital role as a clean, green, safe and sustainable option for meeting the long term electricity demands of the country.
The top brass of the nuclear sector including Dr. A K Mohanty, Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, Vivek Bhasin, Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Dr. V K Saraswat, Member, Niti-Aayog, S S Bajaj, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Prof M M Sharma, Emeritus Professor, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai were present during the event.
Prof Nayak emphasised that Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) will drive a faster energy transition by repurposing the retired coal plants and replacing the coal based captive powerplants. The country is expected to deploy several hundred of these reactors, and hence it is expected that the cost will be competitive to that of conventional energy sources, including renewables.
Prof Joshi acknowledged that India’s industry has to transform from a service-dominated sector to a core engineering-dominated sector meaning, we need to shift from being a global importer to a global supplier.
Dr Munot highlighted that the youth hold the key to unlocking nuclear energy's potential for both national energy security and combating climate change.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.