From Non-Proliferation to Civilian Energy Cooperation

On July 18, Manmohan Singh and George Bush made an agreement on civilian nuclear energy cooperation. Senior officials from both sides are working together to prepare a roadmap for this cooperation. A pragmatic assessment of India’s energy scene is therefore important.

India’s power requirements are growing rapidly. According to estimates, the electricity energy requirement by 2050 will be 8,000 billion units (BU), for which an installed capacity of 1,344,000 MW may be required. While coal may be the king now, it may not be so in the long run, considering its limited and depleting resources, as well as environmental hazards. The push for hydroelectricity may also not go beyond a limit. Natural gas is shrouded in concerns about availability and price, while the role of renewables would be more of a supplementary one. The nuclear power option comes to the fore against this background.

At present, nuclear power contributes a mere 2.34 per cent (2770 MWe) of our total capacity, but there is ample scope for expansion. The Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) has set a rather ambitious target of achieving a capacity of 20,000 MWe by 2020 through the uranium route. The utilisation of thorium resources would open up new vistas. Whether cooperation with the US would help us with our objectives and policies would depend on the nature and extent of support. Would US support be in the form of transfer of technology, or would it be simply an export of certain equipments? Is it that the US is merely trying to create a market for its equipment companies? It is for India to understand its specific needs and assess whether the offer for cooperation serves its purpose.

Some other aspects will also have to be kept in mind. For one, this cooperation should not have a hidden cost. Concerns are already being expressed in some quarters that Indo-US energy cooperation would mean India forgoing the option of the Iranian piped gas. If it were so, this would be unfortunate. Indian interests should be guided by economics and long-term energy security considerations. If gas from Iran is a viable option, it should be explored and developed irrespective of other factors.

Secondly, cooperation with US should not lead to a slowing down of indigenous R&D on nuclear power generation. India should continue to focus strongly on indigenous technology as per the three-stage programme. Moreover, efforts will have to be made simultaneously to bring transparency in the pricing and safety performance of our nuclear power stations. In case of other forms of power (conventional and non-conventional), there is a fair amount of transparency, especially after the setting-up of Electricity Regulatory Commissions (ERCs). This is missing in case of nuclear power. Until now we have only the words of NPCIL and according to one of its studies, ‘‘nuclear power is competitive compared to coal-fired thermal power where the nuclear plant is about 1,000 km from the pit head’’. Such statements are inadequate.

Another important aspect with respect to the indigenous development programme is the issue of safety. There have been apprehensions about the levels of radiation at some of the NPCIL plants such as the Kakrapara Plant. There were reports in 2001 that the collective radiation dose received by workers in the Kakrapara Atomic Power Station near Surat was three times more than international standards. This definitely is a matter of concern. There have also been reports about temporary workers being brought from backward states for repair work at nuclear power plants, who in a very short time are exposed to permissible lifetime limits of radiation. In this context statements made by the CMD of NPCIL to the effect that the radiation levels in NPCIL plants are within the standards set by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, may allay fears, but only partially.

Perhaps it is time to look at international cooperation in nuclear power as an instrument for progress and energy security.

The writers are with The Energy Research Institute (TERI)