New Delhi, Aug. 22: Energy from imported nuclear reactors will cost three times as much as that available from coal-fired power plants and will on an average meet just about three to five per cent of the national power demand. Technocrats working on the basis of available government figures have reached the firm conclusion that nuclear energy will not meet more than five per cent of the total primary energy basket, with 40 per cent of the nation%u2019s future energy needs being met by oil and gas.
The claim that nuclear energy is linked to growth is false, these experts point out, as India%u2019s reliance on hydrocarbons will not diminish even with imported nuclear reactors. The experts have quoted from a Planning Commission study (Integrated Energy Policy, 2006, Planning Commission), which admits to be taking the most optimistic scenario when it points out the best-case scenario for nuclear power to be 15,000MW by 2015 and 29,000 MW by 2021. These targets include 8,000MW from imported reactors.
Even by this %u201Coptimistic scenario%u201D, as the Planning Commission calls it, nuclear energy will add only up to seven per cent of the total installed capacity. And if the government%u2019s unsubstantiated claim of producing 40,000MW of nuclear energy by 2020 is given even hypothetical credence, the end figure is still less than nine per cent. The experts pointed out that the more realistic estimate, even by government statistics, was closer to the 3-5 per cent figure.
