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Concept
Nuclear power in India
Summary
Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. , India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 8 nuclear power plants, with a total installed capacity of 7,380 MW.
Nuclear power produced a total of 43 TWh in 2020–21, contributing 3.11% of total power generation in India (1,382 TWh). 10 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 8,000 MW.
In October 2010, India drew up a plan to reach a nuclear power capacity of 63 GW in 2032. However, following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster there have been numerous anti-nuclear protests at proposed nuclear power plant sites.
There have been mass protests against the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, and a proposed large nuclear power plant near Haripur was refused permission by the Government of West Bengal.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed against the government's civil nuclear programme at the Supreme Court.
Nuclear power in India has suffered from generally low capacity factors.
As of 2021, the lifetime weighted energy availability factor of the Indian fleet is 66.1%.
However, capacity factors have been improving in recent years. The availability factor of Indian reactors was 74.4% in the years 2019–2021.
One of the main reasons for the low capacity factors is lack of nuclear fuel.
India has been making advances in the field of thorium-based fuels, working to design and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor using thorium and low-enriched uranium, a key part of India's three stage nuclear power programme.
As early as 1901, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) had recognised India as potentially having significant deposits of radioactive ores, including pitchblende, uranium and thorianite. In the ensuing 50 years, however, little to no effort was made to exploit those resources. During the 1920s and 1930s, Indian scientists maintained close links to their counterparts in Europe and the United States, and were well aware of the latest developments in physics.
Official source
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