25 pc nuclear energy necessary for economic growth: AEC

Hyderabad,: Even as the country is targeting to generate 20,000 megawatts (MWe) of nuclear power by 2020, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Chairman Anil Kakodkar on Sunday cautioned that India's economic growth would be in jeopardy unless in the next five decades at least 25 per cent of its total electricity was derived from "nuclear mode."



Delivering the keynote address at the 14th National Symposium on Environment organised by the Osmania University's Physics Department and BARC's Human Safety and Environment Group here, Dr Kakodkar said the Department of Atomic Energy's recent study, covering a "horizon for the next 50 years," pointed out a "sizeable deficit" in the energy sector.



This was despite liberal collation of "all" sources, including nuclear power and DAE's expansion of electricity generating capacity to cope with the economic growth.



Unless nuclear power attained a minimum 25 per cent share of the total electricity production, it would be difficult to sustain the economic growth and empower its people by 2050, he said.



Later in his brief interaction with the media, he said the projection will mean "a 13-14 fold" increase for nuclear power to contribute atleast one-fourth of the electricity generation in the country.



"It will mean doubling our (nuclear power) generation every six to eight years," he said, expressing confidence that financial resources would not be a obstacle for the nuclear programme.



The AEC Chairman pointed out that Uranium, the base material for nuclear power generation, needed "at least 15-20 times less" material excavation than either coal or oil and had "million times" higher calorific value than coal.



With the Fast breeder reactor and thorium reactors, programmed by the DAE, the quantity of same Uranium can be recycled for generation of electricity.



The Atomic Energy Programme had developed the process for efficient extraction per tonne of (nuclear) material and the technology for the management of (nuclear) waste which was on par with the best technologies in the world.



He said the major challenge before India was to arrest degradation of its natural resources, including water and minerals, energy and food to support the economic development needed to cope with increasing population growth.



"The challenge of development is to restore to the original," he said.



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