Nuclear power is a safe and viable long term alternative to traditional sources of power and an anti-nuclear stance is `irrational', according to Dr M.R. Srinivasan, Member and former Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, Government of India.
Addressing an interactive session on the need of nuclear power and safety norms, in the context of the ongoing agitation that has stalled work on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in south Tamil Nadu, Dr Srinivasan said, “all need to join in fighting this attack” on nuclear power projects.
Recalling his close association with the nuclear power projects programme in India since the 1970s, Dr Srinivasan said India with more over 20 nuclear power reactors in operation has an impeccable record in terms of operations and safety.
Some of the reactors have been online for more than a year at a time. “The critics on the streets do not know what it takes to keep such equipment going” for that long uninterrupted, he said referring to the expertise available in India.
Safety assured
The Kudankulam facility, with “advanced third generation”, reactors has abundant safety measures built into it beginning from the choice of location to the multi-level safety and back-up equipment that have been provided.
In comparison, the Fukushima reactor in Japan, where the combined earthquake and tsunami had damaged the reactors earlier this year, was a first generation unit. The possibility of such an incident happening here is inconceivable as the Kudankulam facility is not in a seismic zone compared with Japan which is ‘extremely seismic'.
Cheap power
Nuclear power projects are key to the development of the economy as traditional resources are becoming costlier and renewable sources such as wind and solar are either costlier or the technology is not sufficient to power industrial development. Some of the earliest nuclear power projects such as the Tarapore unit churn out power at Rs 1 a kWhr, while later ones cost about Rs 2-3 a kWhr. Power from Kudankulam, if the project is not disrupted for long, will cost less than Rs 3, he said.
The State Government is talking about large infrastructure projects such as the metro rail and mono rail. But if there is ‘no juice' to power the projects these would be dead investments, he said.
At the meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Southern Region, Ms Gayathri Sriram, Chairperson, CII's women empowerment forum and Managing Director, Ucal, said the industry is concerned about the prevailing shortage of power which was hitting the manufacturing sector. It had been hoping that additional generation capacities would help address the shortage but now a solution to the power shortage was being delayed.