Title: Nuclear Energy: Building or Burning the Bridges of Future Energy Landscape of India

Biography:

Archana Choubey is presently working as an Independent Researcher in Bengaluru. Previously, she was working as an Associate Fellow with the Center for Human Security Studies (CHSS), Hyderabad. She is also a Doctoral candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She has completed her M.Phil and MA from JNU. Before joining CHSS, she has also worked with some of the most renowned think tanks of India like Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA); The United Service Institution of India (USI) and Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS). She has also worked with one of the most eminent newspaper of India, The Hindu. She has presented papers in various national and international seminars. She has published her papers in peer reviewed journals of national and international repute.

Abstract

Emergent fretfulness about energy security and climate change, attached with greater than ever demand for electricity worldwide, have encouraged many countries to explore the feasibility of nuclear energy. Existing nuclear states are already building nuclear reactors while some non-nuclear states are actively studying the possibility of joining the nuclear grid. There are more than 400 nuclear power plants at present operating in 31 countries around the world and approximately 13-14 percent of world’s electricity comes from nuclear  power. India is the fourth largest consumer of energy only after the US, China and Russia and is the second most populous country in the world with PPP only second in the world. India has a thriving and predominantly indigenous nuclear power program and aspires to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050. The interest in nuclear energy  was glistened by rising energy demands in the emerging market of the developing nations as well as the need to reduce use of fossil fuels as a rejoinder to climate change, making nuclear more fascinating though less competitive than other types of power. But the 2011 Fukushima incident has led to fresh analysis of plant safety regulations and emergency measures, and to inquire about reactor design and how to deal with spent nuclear fuel. India is now switching to nuclear energy as it is attributed of being one of the most unpolluted, carbon-free and sustainable energy source and endows with a green alternative to dirty, climate-killing coal. Nonetheless, the development of nuclear energy for peaceful applications such as nuclear power plants presented a plethora of scientific, technical, and economic issues. Nuclear plants are extremely costly to build, generate dangerous radioactive waste and present a striking target for terrorism. However, other sources of renewable energy are effortlessly available, cost-effective and produce no lethal waste, for which there still is no permanent storage option. Amongst the auxiliary constraints on the advance of nuclear energy most frequently quoted are concerns about the safety and security of nuclear facilities and materials, and the plausibility for nuclear energy programs to advance the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Most of the nuclear power plants are either dated or based on cold war-era technology, in short they are in vulnerable state as far as safety is concerned; have intractable waste management issues; appalling regulatory challenges and an unstable neighbourhood which accelerates geopolitical concerns. This paper will address the security concerns associated with an expansion of nuclear power in India. The paper would further discuss if nuclear energy is indeed going to be the future for India?