Nuclear Power

India will get 9 per cent of its electricity from nuclear sources by 2047, the centenary year of the country's independence, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday. The Science and Technology minister made these remarks after reviewing the functioning of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai. Singh said the rising share of nuclear power in India's energy basket would help it get closer to the commitment of achieving the net zero target by 2070. He said the Department of Atomic Energy has been given the target of achieving 20 gigawatts (GW) capacity of nuclear power generation by 2030, which will make India the third-largest producer of atomic energy in the world after the US and France. Singh said the credit for this rapid stride goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who took the decision of approving 10 reactors in a fleet mode in a single order and also allowed nuclear installations to be developed under joint ventures with PSUs. India has the sixth-highest number of

Government does not propose to stop the use of nuclear energy in the future and has approved building 10 atomic power reactors at a cost of Rs 1.05 lakh crore by 2031, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. "No, sir," Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh said in response to a question from BSP member Malook Nagar who sought to know whether the government proposes to completely stop the use of nuclear energy in future and develop conventional energy sources in a phased manner. In a written reply to a separate question, Singh said the government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors of 700 MW each in fleet mode. Two 700 MW reactors each are being built at Kaiga in Karnataka, Gorakhpur in Haryana, and Chutka in Madhya Pradesh. Four nuclear reactors will be built at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, Singh said. "These reactors are planned to be set up in 'fleet mode' progressively by t

About 400,000 gallons of radioactive water has leaked from a nuclear power plant in Monticello, the midwestern US state of Minnesota, regulators revealed recently

India's nuclear power sector is saving 41 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, compared to emissions that would have been generated by equivalent electricity generation from coal-based thermal power plants, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply, Singh said as part of low carbon development of electricity systems consistent with enhanced development benefits, the government was exploring a significantly greater role for nuclear power. Nuclear power currently comprises three per cent of India's total electricity generation, Singh said, adding that sufficient production and share of atomic energy was essential for ensuring the country's energy security. Current policy targets a three-fold rise in nuclear installed capacity by 2032, said Singh, who is in-charge of the Department of Atomic Energy. He said nuclear energy can be considered for delivering base load power free of intermittency in place of energy from fossil ...

A devastating earthquake that toppled buildings across parts of Turkiye and neighbouring Syria has revived a longstanding debate locally and in neighbouring Cyprus about a large nuclear power station being built on Turkiye's southern Mediterranean coastline. The plant's site in Akkuyu, located some 210 miles (338 kilometres) and 245 miles (394 kilometres) to the west of the February 6 tremors' epicentres, is being designed to endure powerful tremors and did not sustain any damage or experience powerful ground shaking from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks. But the size of the quake the deadliest in Turkiye's modern history sharpened existing concerns about the facility being built on the edge of a major fault line. Rosatom, Russia's state-owned company in charge of the project, says the power station is designed to withstand extreme external influences from a magnitude 9 earthquake. In nuclear power plant construction, plants are designed to survive shaking that is mor

The Zaporizhzhia NPP, which is one of Europe's largest nuclear power plants, has been controlled by Russian forces since early March last year

In past India's nuclear installations were mostly confined to the South Indian States or in the west in Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Modi govt is also promoting its expansion to other parts of India

After Pakistan's Finance Ministry refused to provide a sovereign guarantee, the fifth unit of the Chashma Nuclear Power Generating Station, C5, hit a snag, Dawn reported citing sources

India has historically taken more than a decade to get plants in action, shows a Busi­ness Standard analysis

Japan on Thursday adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy to ensure a stable power supply amid global fuel shortages and to reduce carbon emissions a major reversal of its phase-out plan since the Fukushima crisis. The new policy says Japan must maximise the use of existing nuclear reactors by restarting as many of them as possible and prolonging the operating life of old reactors beyond their 60-year limit, and by developing next-generation reactors to replace them. Anti-nuclear sentiment and safety concerns rose sharply in Japan after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and restart approvals have since come slowly under stricter safety standards. Utility companies have applied for restarts at 27 reactors in the past decade. Seventeen have passed safety checks and only 10 have resumed operations. That was in line with Japan's earlier plan to phase out nuclear energy by 2030. In a reversal, the new policy says nuclear power provides stable output and serves an import

India plans to commission 20 nuclear power plants by 2031, adding nearly 15,000 MW in power generating capacity, the government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The first of these 20 nuclear power plants, a 700 MW unit, is expected to be commissioned in 2023 at Kakrapar in Gujarat, which already has three atomic power generating units operational. According to a written reply by Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh, the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam is likely to be operational in 2024, followed by two 1,000 MW units at Kudankulam in 2025. Two 700 MW units at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan are likely to be completed by 2026, while another two 1,000 MW units are likely to be completed at Kudankulam by 2027, he said. Two 700 MW units are expected to be completed at Gorakhpur in Haryana by 2029, the minister said listing out details of projects under consideration. In addition, government had accorded administrative approvals and financial sanctions for building 1

Commercial nuclear fusion may still be decades away

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency will send permanent technical missions to all the nuclear power plants in Ukraine as part of stepped-up efforts to help prevent a nuclear accident

The plant aims to provide new and renewable energy for the Southeast Asian country so that it can reach its zero emissions target

Small modular reactors are advanced reactors that have a power generation capacity of up to 300 megawatts (MW) per unit

Russia and Belarus ]signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of spent nuclear fuel management

The agreements raise concerns that other countries will follow suit, delaying more difficult cuts of greenhouse gas emissions in wealthier nations

Ukrainian engineers restored external power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant a day after the facility lost the connection to its last remaining operating power line due to shelling

Live news updates: Shah is slated to participate in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of major cooperative institutions of Gujarat on Sunday

A global search for alternative sources to Russian energy during the war in Ukraine has refocused attention on smaller, easier-to-build nuclear power stations, which proponents say could provide a cheaper, more efficient alternative to older model mega-plants. UK-based Rolls-Royce SMR says its small modular reactors, or SMRs, are much cheaper and quicker to get running than standard plants, delivering the kind of energy security that many nations are seeking. France already relies on nuclear power for a majority of its electricity, and Germany kept the option of reactivating two nuclear plants it will shut down at the end of the year as Russia cuts natural gas supplies. While Rolls-Royce SMR and its competitors have signed deals with countries from Britain to Poland to start building the stations, they are many years away from operating and cannot solve the energy crisis now hitting Europe. Nuclear power also poses risks, including disposing of highly radioactive waste and keeping