Nuclear Power Plants
- Availability of power developed by hydro-electric power plants is tremendously affected by the vagaries of monsoon rain from year to year.
- In a year when monsoon fails, power cuts become inevitable in case of hydel power is connected to power grids.
- On the other hand, steam, diesel and gas turbine power plants are based on conventional sources of energy like coal, oil and gas, but the availability of these conventional fuels are fast depleting while the power demand is ever increasing.
- India is no exception. Thermal power plants are coal based but the coal deposits are concentrated in the central and eastern parts of the India.
- In case of thermal power plants located away in other parts of country the coal has to be transported over the long distance which increases the cost of power generation.
- Therefore, we have to seek for large alternative sources of energy like solar geothermal nuclear, tidal energies to meet the power requirements of the country other than the steam, hydel, diesel and gas turbine power plants.
- At present nuclear has a bright future. The nuclear fuels used in power industry are principally uranium and thorium.
- Their reserves in earth’s crest are estimated to be 1011 tonnes at a depth of 5 km or so. Out of this, about 20 x 106 tonnes of uranium and 1 x 106 tonnes of thorium can economically be extracted.
- It has been estimated that fission of 1 kg of uranium can produce the energy equivalent to burning of about 4 x 106 of high grade coal.
- Nuclear power plants require high initial cost but has low operating cost compared to conventional thermal power plants. These plants become more economical if built in large capacities.
- Taking onto account the verious aspects discussed above, nuclear power plants are built in different parts of the country.