In the past six months, the Indian government has been bullish over its plans for nuclear energy. A 1400% increase in nuclear energy capacity is a much touted figure and with seven reactors currently under construction, eighteen in the planning stage and a further 39 proposed, the country is certainly headed in the right direction.
The two blackouts that occurred recently affected an area that included around 670 million people – that’s about 10% of the world’s population…. The New York Times published an article on the primary catalysts for the blackouts but I wanted to blog about the blackouts because the underlying problems are not unique to India and they highlight the fundamental growth factors for nuclear energy growth.
India is overly reliant on coal which, while comparatively cheap, is dirty, inefficient and because India doesn’t produce enough of its own has to be imported in vast quantities. The country also uses hydro power but low rainfall has left rivers (and hydro power stations) below capacity. Nuclear power, on the other hand, uses uranium which is vastly more efficient and is required in minute quantities compared to coal. Nuclear power is clean , has a high base load (unlike solar, wind and tidal) and is an area of technology in which India has a skilled workforce.
The Indian government knows this which is why they are moving their power mix towards nuclear as fast as possible. As energy demands continue to grow worldwide and climate change pushes the need for clean power, India’s blackouts are a warning to any country that doesn’t give nuclear its proper seat at the table.
Dev Randhawa
