Indian Nuclear Program
Currently India has 21 reactors that produce 5780 MW, 6 under construction aimed to produce 4300 MW and 33 planned aimed to produce 33000 MW. Currently India’s installed capacity of energy is 230,000 MW so nuclear energy could form a significant portion of India’s energy output.
Dr. Homi Bhaba devised India’s three-stage nuclear power program in the 1954. It was formulate to provide energy security to India. The main aim was to capitalize on India’s vase thorium reserves while accounting for its low uranium reserves. India has only about 2% of the global uranium reserves but 25% of the world’s thorium reserves. Thorium itself is not a fissile material, and thus cannot undergo fission to produce energy. Instead, it must be transmuted to uranium-233 in a reactor fueled by other fissile materials. The first two stages, natural uranium-fueled heavy water reactors and plutonium-fueled fast breeder reactors, are intended to generate sufficient fissile material from India’s limited uranium resources, so that all its vast thorium reserves can be fully utilised in the third stage of thermal breeder reactors. The first generation of atomic power stations based on natural uranium can only be used to start off an atomic power program. The plutonium produced by the first generation power stations can be used in a second generation of power stations designed to produce electric power and convert thorium into U-233, or depleted uranium into more plutonium with breeding again. The second generation of power stations may be regarded as an intermediate step for the breeder power stations of the third generation all of which would produce more U-233 than they burn in the course of producing power.
The three stages of the Indian nuclear program are:
- Natural uranium fuelled Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PWHR)
- Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) utilizing plutonium based fuel
- Advanced nuclear power systems for utilization of thorium
Click on the link below to know more about the three stages of the Indian Nuclear Program and the way forward
Indian Nuclear Power Program (By pscprep.com)
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