Why in Broadcast?

• The recent uptick in coal consumption in Europe, suggests that reliable, 24/7 low-carbon electricity resources are critical to ensure the deep decarbonisation of power generation. Small modular nuclear reactors can be helpful to India in this regard.

Nuclear Power

• Nuclear power plants (NPPs) generate 10% of the world’s electricity.
• It help i avoiding 180 billion cubic metres of natural gas demand and 1.5 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
• NPPs are efficient users of land and their grid integration costs are lower than those associated with variable renewable energy (VRE) sources.
• NPPs generate power 24x7 in all kinds of weather.
• Nuclear power also provides valuable co-benefits like high-skill jobs in technology, manufacturing, and operations.

Small Modular Reactors

• Conventional NPPs have generally suffered from time and cost overruns.
• Several countries are developing small modular reactors to complement conventional NPPs.
• SMRs – Nuclear reactors with a maximum capacity of 300 MW.

Advantages of SMRs

• SMRs are designed with a smaller core damage frequency and source term compared to conventional NPPs.
• Core Damage Frequency: The likelihood that an accident will damage the nuclear fuel.
• Source Term: A measure of radioactive contamination
• SMR designs are simpler than those of conventional NPPs.
• SMRs can be safely installed and operated at several brownfield sites.
• SMRs are designed to operate for 40-60 years with capacity factors exceeding 90%.
• The cost is expected to come down post 2035, due to large number of SMR’s coming online.

Need of SMR in India

Projections by India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA):

• Generation capacity of coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs) must be increased to 259,000 MW by 2032.
• The generation capacity of VRE sources have to be increased to 486,000 MW by  2032.
• TPPs will provide more than half of the electricity generated in India by 2031-2032.
• VRE sources and NPPs will contribute 35% and 4.4% of electricity generation.

Legal and Regulatory Changes

• The Atomic Energy Act will need to be amended to allow the private sector to set up SMRs.
• To ensure safety, security, and safeguards, control of nuclear fuel and radioactive waste must continue to lie with the Government of India.
• The government will have to enact a law to create an independent, empowered regulatory board with the expertise and capacity for:

• Every stage of the nuclear power generation cycle,
• Design approval
• Site selection
• Construction
• Operations
• Certification of operators
• Waste reprocessing