The governments ambitious scheme of generating 20,000 MW of electricity from nuclear energy will face a major set back if the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal does not materialise because the existing Indian uranium reserve can only support 10,000 MW of installed capacity.
The department of atomic energy’s (DAE) original strategy was to generate 10,000 MW of electricity from the indigenous reserves by 2010. The Planning Commission later revised the estimate upwardly by another 10,000 MW that was planned to be met by 2020. But the DAE had always factored in imported reactors and foreign fuel supply for achieving the 20,000 MW target though it never publicised it, sources said, adding that if the deal did not materialise, achieving the 20,000 MW target will be a difficult proposition. According to official estimates, India’s total uranium reserve is 78,000 tonnes, which can sustain only a limited number of reactors. In fact, the 17 reactors being operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, is facing a serious uranium shortage at the moment because of which the plants are running at 50-60 per cent of their capacity. To further complicate the situation, two more 220 MW reactors, requiring indigenous uranium fuel will be operational by the end of this year in Kaiga and Rawatbhatta. In the 11th plan, the government intends to create eight indigenous 700 MW reactors and in-principal approval has been accorded for the first two to be set up at Kakrapar, Gujarat. The NPCIL, on Monday, has admitted a “temporary mismatch between the demand and supply of uranium from the operational mines.” To address this, the department plans to operationalise two mines at Banduhurang and Turamdih in Jharkahnd and a processing mill at Turamdih. However, the Turamdih mine was shut down in 1992 and the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) decided to reopen the mine almost three years back due to the crisis. Jadugoda is the only operational mine so far. The new mill at Turamdih was “cold-commissioned” in June. There are also plans for opening new mines in places like Bagjata and Banduhurang. While, the state pollution control board has cleared Banduhurang, clearance for Bagjata has not come. The proposal for Mohuldih was cleared at the DAE level. But there is hardly any progress in other prospective uranium mines. Mining efforts in Domiasiat in Meghalaya have come to a standstill due to public pressure. In AP, pre-project activities have begun in Cuddapah district.
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