NUCLEAR ENERGY IN INDIA
Overview- Nuclear energy contributes about 4.1% of power generation in India. The share of nuclear energy is expected to reach 9% by 2035
- Currently, there are 6 nuclear power plants generating about 4120 MW
- The largest nuclear power station in India is located in Tarapur, Maharasthra. The largest research reactor is the Dhruva at the Babha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai
- Currently India uses two types of reactors for power production: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), Boiling Water Reactor (BWR). Additionally the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under experiments at the Madras Kalpakkam
- The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is the sole company authorised to set up nuclear power plants in India
| Power station | State | Type | Capacity (MW) |
| Kaiga | Karnataka | PHWR | 660 |
| Kakrapar | Gujarat | PHWR | 440 |
| Kalpakkam | Tamil Nadu | PHWR | 440 |
| Narora | Uttar Pradesh | PHWR | 440 |
| Rawatbhata | Rajasthan | PHWR | 740 |
| Tarapur | Maharashtra | BWR, PHWR | 1400 |
Nuclear power projects under construction
| Power station | State | Type | Capacity (MW) |
| Kaiga | Karnataka | PHWR | 220 |
| Rawatbhata | Rajasthan | PHWR | 440 |
| Kudankulam | Tamil Nadu | WER | 2000 |
| Kalpakkam | Tamil Nadu | FBR | 500 |
Availability of nuclear materials
- Australia has the largest reserves of Uranium in the world. Canada, which has the second largest reserves, is the largest exporter of Uranium
- India has limited availability of Uranium reserves in the country (about 1% of world availability)
- The primary source of Uranium in India are the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand. Uranium is extracted in the form of “Yellow Cake”
- However, Thorium is widely available in the world. Worldwide, Thorium is about three times as abundant as Uranium
- India has about 25% of the world’s reserves of Thorium
- In India, Thorium is commonly found in the form of the mineral Monazite in the beach sands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu
- The waiver of restrictions on nuclear fuel supply by the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Sep 2008 has increased India’s opportunities for importing nuclear fuel (esp. Uranium)
- India now has nuclear supply agreements with France (Sep 2008), the US (Sep 2008), the EU (Nov 2009), Canada (Nov 2009) and Russia (Dec 2009)
Department of Atomic Energy
- The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) functions directly under the Prime Minister. The Department was established in 1958
- The DAE is responsible for all nuclear technology in India, including nuclear power and nuclear research
- The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) functions under the DAE. The Commission was established in 1948, but moved to the Dept. of Atomic Energy in 1958
- The Secretary, Dept. of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. Other members of the AEC include the Foreign Secretary and the Cabinet Secretary
India’s three-stage nuclear power programme
- Due to limited availability of Uranium and the restrictions on nuclear fuel export, India has had to develop ingenious technologies to make optimal use of available minerals
- Subsequently, India has developed a three-stage programme to make use of uranium as well as thorium
- Stage I Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor: the PHWR uses Uranium as fuel and produces Plutonium-239 as a by-product
- Stage II Fast Breeder Reactor: uses Plutonium-239 and Thorium-232 as fuel and produces Uranium-233
- Stage III Advanced Heavy Water Reactor: would use Thorium-232 and Uranium-233 as fuels. Currently under development at the BARC
GOVERNMENTAL BODIES IN NUCLEAR ENERGY
All bodies listed below function under the Department of Atomic Energy unless otherwise notedHeavy Water Board
- Established 1969, headquarters Mumbai
- Responsible for production of heavy water (D2O)
- Operates six heavy water plants in the country:
- Kota (Rajasthan)
- Baroda (Gujarat)
- Hazira (Gujarat)
- Thal (Maharashtra)
- Talcher (Orissa)
- Manuguru (Andhra Pradesh)
- Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu)
- India is the world’s largest manufacturer of heavy water
- India has exported heavy water to South Korea in 2002-2003
Nuclear Fuel Complex
- Established 1971, location Hyderabad
- Responsible for enrichment and supply of nuclear fuel for all nuclear power plants in the country
- Also responsible for manufacture of reactor core components
- The NFC processes both Uranium concentrates (for nuclear fuel) and Zirconium (for reactor components)
Uranium Corporation of India Ltd
- Established 1967, headquarters Singhbhum (Jharkhand)
- Responsible for extraction and processing of uranium
- Operates five uranium mines and two processing plants
- All five uranium mines are located in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand
- Jaduguda mine – oldest mine, commissioned 1967
- Bhatin mine
- Narwapahar mine – latest mine, commissioned 1995
- Turamdih mine
- Banduhurang mine – only open pit uranium mine
- India produces about 300 tonnes a year of uranium
Indian Rare Earths Ltd
- Established 1950, headquarters Mumbai
- Responsible for extraction of minerals from beach sands
- It primary responsibility is the extraction of Thorium (in the form of monazite) for use in nuclear industry
- Operates four mineral extraction units
- Aluva (Kerala)
- Chavara (Kerala)
- Manavalakurichi (Tamil Nadu)
- Chatrapur (Orissa)
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
- Established as the Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay in 1957. Located in Mumbai
- It is India’s first and primary nuclear research facility
- Site of CIRUS reactor (Canada-India-US Research)
- Developed Dhruva reactor (1985) – largest research reactor in the country
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR)
- Established 1971, located at Kalpakkam (near Chennai)
- Site of Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR), the first reactor in the world to use Plutonium (70%) Uranium (30%) Carbide fuel. The Plutonium for the reactor comes from spent fuel from the power plant on site
- Developed KAMINI (Kalpakkam Mini) reactor in 1996, the only reactor in the world that uses Uranium-233 as fuel
- Currently, construction of 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor is under progress
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC)
- Established 1977, located Kolkata
- Operates the first cyclotron in India
- Provides protons, deuterons, alpha particles and heavy ion beams to other institutions in the country
Institute for Plasma Research
- Established 1986, located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
- Functions under the Department of Atomic Energy
- The IPR is involved in research of various aspects of plasma science
- It is the biggest plasma physics organisation in India
- The IPR was responsible for developing the ADITYA tokamak in 1989. A tokamak is a magnetic confinement fusion device used for thermonuclear fusion power
- The IPR is a major contributor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France. Expected to be operational by 2016, the ITER is the first large scale research incentive on nuclear fusion based power plants
TYPES OF NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS
| Reactor | Fuel | Moderator | Coolant | Notes |
| Pressurised water reactor (PWR) | Enriched uranium | Light water (demineralised water) | Light water | PWR, BWR and Supercritical water reactors are 3 types of Light Water Reactors PWR is compact and high power and so used commonly in aircraft carriers, submarines etc PWR is the oldest, most widely used reactor for power generation In PWR, the water is maintained at high pressure such that it does not boil even at high temperatures |
| Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) | Natural uranium | Heavy water (D2O) | Heavy water | Uses natural unenriched uranium Lower fuel costs No enrichment required Needs large quantities of fuel |
| Boiling water reactor (BWR) | Enriched uranium | Light water | Light water | Second most common type of reactor for power plants (after PWR) Water is allowed to boil Simple, uncomplicated design Lower risk, longer lifetime than PWR |
| Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) | Enriched Uranium, Plutonium Also, non-fissile Uranium-238 | No moderator | Liquid metal (usually liquid Sodium) | Breeds fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes Reactor core consists of Plutonium and Uranium Reactor core is surrounded by non-fissile Uranium-238 which gets converted into fissile Pu-239 by capturing fast neutrons Since fast neutrons are specifically desired to bombard the U-238, no moderator is required |
| Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) | Thorium | Heavy water, Amorphous carbon | Boiling water | Currently under development at BARC Designed to use Thorium as fuel |
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