The commercial sector and the Indian government intend to collaborate on the research and testing of small modular reactors (SMRs).
While fossil fuel-based energy sources, particularly coal, continue to be more relevant and affordable, nuclear energy plays a significant role in the global energy mix as it waits for the development and maturation of (other) renewable energy technologies. Although externalized expenditures such as constructing safe and dependable reactors and managing spent nuclear fuel complicate this calculation, nuclear power nevertheless provides a sufficiently high and sustainable electricity output. It’s true that estimations for costs and schedules can increase to almost twice the amount at the point of project commissioning.
Because of this, “younger” facilities have a higher nuclear power tariff even though they still have power gaps from renewable sources. Smaller versions of its conventional counterparts, SMRs range in power from 10 MWe to 300 MWe. Through the use of a modular design, a smaller operating surface area, cheaper capital expenditures, and the higher energy content of nuclear fuel, they aim to be safer without sacrificing commercial viability. However, maintaining this goal in the face of SMRs’ external expenses is a difficulty.
The need for legislative measures to prevent radioactive material from being diverted for military use would rise as a result of the government’s privatization of nuclear power generation. First-generation SMRs are anticipated to generate power that can be sold at reasonable prices and waste that can be managed with current methods by assembling facilities on-site using factory-made parts and low-enriched uranium. However, the reactor will produce a significant amount of plutonium and require frequent refueling; both outcomes will highlight proliferation resistance. The application of “safeguardable” reactor designs has been praised by the IAEA, however such solutions would raise capital expenses.
In addition, if the viability of future SMR generations depends on longer periods of continuous generation, they could need more enriched uranium or more advanced systems to improve fuel efficiency, which would raise the operational surface area and generation costs. SMR-based tariffs do not necessarily have to be lower because nuclear reactors have fixed baseline costs and safety expectations that are independent of energy output. For this reason, the Department of Atomic Energy raised the 220 MW to 700 MW capacity of its reactors.
The potential of SMRs to improve India’s chances of obtaining nuclear power will therefore depend on their financial viability, which will in turn depend on the availability of less unstable markets, reliable grids, and chances to mass-produce parts, as well as the cost of proliferation resistance.
ABHISHEK VERMA
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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