4. Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India. It
accounts for 55% of the country's energy need. The country's
industrial heritage was built upon indigenous coal.
Commercial primary energy consumption in India has grown by
about 700% in the last four decades. The current per capita
commercial primary energy consumption in India is about 350
kgoe/year which is well below that of developed countries. Driven
by the rising population, expanding economy and a quest for
improved quality of life, energy usage in India is expected to rise.
As per the latest data, coal stocks at more than 100 thermal power
plants in India have fallen below 25% of the required stock (critical
mark).The biggest reason for coal shortage is the increasing power
demand. As a consequence, the daily electricity deficit in India has
increased from 0.3% to 1% in April 2022.
6. NUCLEAR ENERGY
About 15% of the
world's electricity
comes from
nuclear power
Commercial plants in
use to date use nuclear
fission reactions. Electric
utility reactors heat
water to produce steam,
which is then used to
generate electricity.
Nuclear power is
power (generally
electrical)
produced from
controlled nuclear
reactions.
8. How Nuclear Energy Works ?
• Just as many conventional thermal power stations generate electricity by harnessing
the thermal energy released from burning fossil fuels, nuclear power plants convert the
energy released from the nucleus of an atom, typically via nuclear fission.
• When a relatively large fissile atomic nucleus (usually uranium-235 or plutonium-239)
absorbs a neutron, a fission of the atom often results. Fission splits the atom into two
or more smaller nuclei with kinetic energy (known as fission products) and also
releases gamma radiation and free neutrons. A portion of these neutrons may later be
absorbed by other fissile atoms and create more fissions, which release more neutrons,
and so on.
• This nuclear chain reaction can be controlled by using neutron poisons and neutron
moderators to change the portion of neutrons that will go on to cause more fissions.
• A cooling system removes heat from the reactor core and transports it to another area
of the plant, where the thermal energy can be harnessed to produce electricity or to
do other useful work.
10. Benefits of Nuclear Energy
● The processes of running a Nuclear Power plant generates no CO2,
although CO2 emissions arise from the construction of the plant, the
mining and enrichment of uranium, its conversion into nuclear fuel,
its final disposal, and the final plant decommissioning. A big 1,250
megawatt plant produces the equivalent of 250,000 tons of carbon
dioxide a year during its life, much less than coal-fired power plants
● By not depending on fossil fuels, the cost of nuclear power isn't
affected by fluctuations in oil and gas prices.
● Nuclear power generates a high amount of electrical energy in one
single plant.
11. Nuclear energy can be implemented as
the main source of energy by -
● Placing increased emphasis on the once-through fuel cycle as best
meeting the criteria of low costs and proliferation resistance
● Having government more fully develop the capabilities to analyze
life-cycle health and safety impacts of fuel cycle facilities
● Urging DOE to establish a Nuclear System Modeling project that
would collect the engineering data and perform the analysis
necessary to evaluate alternative reactor concepts and fuel cycles
using the criteria of cost, safety, waste, and proliferation resistance.
