NUCLEAR ENERGY

If the level of our per capita electricity consumption is raised to the level of a developed country (~5000 kWh/person/year) and only a single energy resource is to be used:

Domestic extractable coal reserves will last for <13

Uranium in open cycle will last for ~ 0.5 year

Uranium in closed cycle with FBRs will last for ~ 73 years

Known reserves of thorium in closed cycle with breeder reactors will last for > 250 years

Entire renewable energy (including Hydroelectric capacity) will be sufficient for < 70 days/ year

Total solar collection area (based on MNES estimate 20 MW/km2) needed will be at least ~ 31000 sq. km.

It is obvious that for long term energy security nuclear energy based on thorium has to be a prominent component of Indian energy mix.

2005-05-27 (Delhi, Petrofed) RKS - India's Energy Security - The Role of Nuclear Energy

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation of thermal nuclear power plants.

It has 15 small and two mid-sized nuclear power reactors in commercial operation, six under construction - including two large ones and a fast breeder reactor, and more planned.

India's operating nuclear power reactors:

Reactor	Type	MWe net, each	Commercial operation	Safeguards status
Tarapur 1 & 2	BWR	150	1969	item-specific
Kaiga 1 & 2	PHWR	202	1999-2000
Kaiga 3	PHWR	202	2007
Kakrapar 1 & 2	PHWR	202	1993-95	by 2012 under new agreement
Kalpakkam 1 & 2 (MAPS)	PHWR	202	1984-86
Narora 1 & 2	PHWR	202	1991-92	by 2014 under new agreement
Rawatbhata 1	PHWR	90	1973	item-specific
Rawatbhata 2	PHWR	187	1981	item-specific
Rawatbhata 3 & 4	PHWR	202	1999-2000	by 2010 under new agreement
Tarapur 3 & 4	PHWR	490	2006, 05
Total (17)		3779 MWe

Kalpakkam also known as Madras/MAPS
Rawatbhata also known as Rajasthan/RAPS
Kakrapar = KAPS, Narora = NAPS
dates are for start of commercial operation.

India's nuclear power reactors under construction:

Reactor	Type	MWe net, each	Project control	Commercial operation	Safeguards status
Kaiga 4	PHWR	202 MWe	NPCIL	end of 2008
Rawatbhata 5 & 6	PHWR	202 MWe	NPCIL	end of 2008, 3/09	by 2008 under new agreement
Kudankulam 1 & 2	PWR (VVER)	950 MWe	NPCIL	9/2009, 12/09	item-specific
Kalpakkam PFBR	FBR	470 MWe	Bhavini	2010	unlikely
Total (6)		2976 MWe

Rawatbhata also known as Rajasthan/RAPS
dates are for start of commercial operation.

In April 2007 the government gave approval for construction of the first four of these eight units.

Power reactors planned or firmly proposed

Reactor	Type	MWe net, each	Project control	Start operation
Kakrapar 3 & 4	PHWR	640	NPCIL	2012
Rawatbhata 7 & 8	PHWR	640	NPCIL	2012
Kudankulam 3 & 4	PWR - VVER	1000	NPCIL
Jaitapur 1 & 2	PWR	1000	NPCIL
?	PWR x 2	1000	NTPC	2014
?	PHWR x 4	640	NPCIL
?	FBR x 4	470	Bhavini	2020
?	AHWR	300	?	2020

For reactor table: first ten units 'planned', next 9 'proposed'.

In August 2007 the government approved a new US$ 270 million mine and mill at Tummalapalle in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, for commissioning in 2010.

India's uranium mines and mills - existing and announced

State, district	Mine	Mill	Operating from	tU per year
Jharkhand	Jaduguda	Jaduguda	1967 (mine) 1968 (mill)	175 total from mill
	Bhatin	Jaduguda	1967
	Narwapahar	Jaduguda	1995
	Bagjata	Jaduguda	2008
	Turamdih	Turamdih	2003 (mine) 2008 (mill)	190 total from mill
	Banduhurang	Turamdih	2007
	Mohuldih	Turamdih	2011
Meghalaya	Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong (Domiasiat)Mawthabah	Mawthabah	2012	340
Andhra Pradesh, Nalgonda	Lambapur-Peddagattu	Seripally	2012	130
Andhra Pradesh, Kadapa	Tummalapalle	Tummalapalle	2010	220

However, India has reserves of 290,000 tonnes of thorium - about one quarter of the world total, and these are intended to fuel its nuclear power program longer-term.

Some Data for the Top Twelve GDP Ranking Countries

Country	GDP Rank	Electricity Prodn. Rank	Per Capita Elec. Gen. (kWh/yr)	bn kWh Nuclear 2003*	% Nuclear	Reactors under constn.	Installed MWe per Te U/Yr reqd.
USA	01	01	12824	763.7	20	0	4.4
China	02	02	1104	79.0	1.4	3	5.1
Japan	03	03	8152	230.8	39	3	5.8
India	04	05	610	16.4	3.7	9 (8 now)	8.5
Germany	05	07	6616	157.4	30	0	5.6
France	06	08	8642	420.7	78	0	6.2
UK	07	09	6006	85.3	22	0	4.9
Italy	08	12	4462	0	0	0
Russia	09	04	5858	138.4	16	6	6.9
Brazil	10	10	1765	13.3	4.0	0	6.1
S. Korea	11	11	6020	123.3	39	2	5.3
Canada	12	06	17581	70.3	12	0	7.1
WORLD			2356		16	29	5.4

o First commercial nuclear power stations started operation in 1950s.

o 440 commercial nuclear reactors operating in 31 countries

o 360,000 MWe is the total capacity.

o Supply of 16% of the world's electricity

· 56 countries operate a total of 284 research reactors.