MUMBAI: Fifty-three years ago on October 28, 1969, India’s nuclear programme crossed a major milestone when the Tarapur Atomic Power Station started commercial operations.
Stating this at the 5th International Ministerial Conference on”’Nuclear Power in the 21st Century” on Wednesday, chairman of Indian Atomic Energy Commission KN Vyas declared: “Today, after a little more than 50 years, it is among the oldest twin-reactor stations in the world, providing electricity at a cost lesser than solar.”
The three-day conference in Washington is organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in partnership with International Energy Agency. The meet is hosted by the US Department of Energy.
Vyas said India has the second-largest fleet of under-construction reactors in the world today.
The Tarapur reactors were built in collaboration with General Electric in the US. They are located in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, not too far from Mumbai.
“Efforts are also being made to construct and commission more light water reactor-based large nuclear reactors through international co-operation,” he said.
Vyas told the international nuclear fraternity that for optimum utilisation of its nuclear resources and also for effective waste management, India has opted for a closed fuel cycle.
According to the Indian nuke chief, the need of the hour is to not only expand the deployment of large-size reactors, but also to develop and deploy newer and more flexible advanced nuclear technologies like the SMRs (small modular reactors).
“This will help in deploying nuclear energy for non-electrical applications and decarbonise the hard-to-abate sectors needing source of heat,” he stated.
Vyas said for creating an “enabling environment”, the global nuclear fraternity needs to act in unison and address two issues — public perception and economics.
“While the perception management can be addressed through transparency and public awareness initiatives, low-cost financing schemes are required to incentivise the production of nuclear energy,” he said.
Stating this at the 5th International Ministerial Conference on”’Nuclear Power in the 21st Century” on Wednesday, chairman of Indian Atomic Energy Commission KN Vyas declared: “Today, after a little more than 50 years, it is among the oldest twin-reactor stations in the world, providing electricity at a cost lesser than solar.”
The three-day conference in Washington is organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in partnership with International Energy Agency. The meet is hosted by the US Department of Energy.
Vyas said India has the second-largest fleet of under-construction reactors in the world today.
The Tarapur reactors were built in collaboration with General Electric in the US. They are located in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, not too far from Mumbai.
“Efforts are also being made to construct and commission more light water reactor-based large nuclear reactors through international co-operation,” he said.
Vyas told the international nuclear fraternity that for optimum utilisation of its nuclear resources and also for effective waste management, India has opted for a closed fuel cycle.
According to the Indian nuke chief, the need of the hour is to not only expand the deployment of large-size reactors, but also to develop and deploy newer and more flexible advanced nuclear technologies like the SMRs (small modular reactors).
“This will help in deploying nuclear energy for non-electrical applications and decarbonise the hard-to-abate sectors needing source of heat,” he stated.
Vyas said for creating an “enabling environment”, the global nuclear fraternity needs to act in unison and address two issues — public perception and economics.
“While the perception management can be addressed through transparency and public awareness initiatives, low-cost financing schemes are required to incentivise the production of nuclear energy,” he said.
