Go nuclear, or tighten belts?

The nuke deal is through even if new clauses continue to be slipped in and removed, irking both sides. However, this has not deterred private players in the country and abroad from making big plans for nuclear power generation in India. Expertise does not seem to be lacking, even as these players wait for the government to amend the Atomic Energy Act to allow private players.

It is prudent to wait and see before jumping into the cauldron. Questions still abound. How much will nuke energy contribute to the nation's insatiable hunger for energy? A 5 percent? At what cost? Do we have a long term plan for waste disposal?

Wouldn't it be better to first work on the existing reactors and increase their capacities from the present 40 percent to 80 percent, now that matching fuel can be had?

Wouldn't it be better still to look at ways to optimise power from our non-nuclear plants? Explore ways to enhance technical skills, speeden up the privatisation move, address the T&D losses, theft and non-payment of bills, all of which could add a 10,000 MW in five years, as against the 20,000 MW of nuclear power under the deal? Not to take sides here, but merely going step by step.

When we have premier research institutions like CPRI in the country, why not go for in-house manufacture of power equipments for turbines, blades, boilers, etc? Instead of relying totally on imports. Implementing supercritical boiler technology can increase fuel conversion efficiency of power plants from the prevailing 30 percent to around 46 percent! Prudent consumption can reduce energy intensity by 25 percent. After all, a negawatt is much more effective than a megawatt in terms of energy it saves.

Lot can be done to increase energy efficiency, reduce requirements, augment domestic resource base, and provide energy security for the 'power-hungry' nation. Nuclear measures, literally speaking.