Nuclear power to become dependable source in 2050

Nuclear power to become dependable source in 2050
“Nuclear power is the only dependable sources to meet our power requirement.” – P. S. Bami, President, India Energy Forum and Former CMD, NTPC
The present nuclear capacity is only 4,780 MW. By the end of 13th Five-Year Plan, the capacity will grow t0 18,000 MW. P. S. Bami shares why conventional sources or even solar and other renewable can’t meet this.
What is your opinion on the status of energy security as far as power sector in India is concerned? India is facing a chronic fuel shortage where imports hold the key. How do you see the things are heading?For a growing economy and growing population, India’s domestic energy supplies are limited. Dependence on imports will increase. Coal is the predominant source of power generation with 67 per cent of the installed capacity of 211GW is coal based and contributes about 70 per cent of the total power generation in the country. Our per-capita electricity consumption is 818 kW which is way below world average of about 2,890 kW. We have the 4th largest coal reserves in the world, and 75 per cent of coal produced in the country is used for power generation.
However, there is a huge demand-supply gap necessitating coal imports which are expected to rise from about 100 tonnes to 200 tonnes 2016-17. There is a shortage of domestic natural gas. Large capacity based on gas is stranded. Unless we are able to develop alternate sources for power like renewable and nuclear to meet our demand, we cannot have energy security or energy independence.
CERC has recently directed Haryana and Gujarat utilities to compensate Adani for costlier coal imports, your comments?The similar order has been given in the case of Tata Power also. It appears to me a positive development as power generator can’t run a project where it can’t recover coal cost on a sustained basis. How the order gets implemented will depend on the committee of the state government which has to discuss the issue with Adani and Tata and arrive at the compensatory figure. The CERC order has sent a good signal to the investors, and we will see a renewed interest in power sector from private developers.

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