Rising climate change concerns and soaring energy demands present a global dilemma of producing electricity with maximum output and minimum carbon emissions simultaneously. Coal power plants emit thousands of tons of carbon dioxide and renewables require a large area. Small modular nuclear reactors promise highly efficient, quick-to-deploy and zero carbon emitting way of electricity production.
Planet Earth is inching backward into climate extremes and serious socio-economic uncertainty with humanity still belching out over 50 Giga-Tons CO 2 eq GHG gases every year! And all this despite 28 International IPCC Conferences over the past 3 decades. Humanity has exploited earth resources and trees at an exponential rate, enough to destabilize the environment.
The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide is 415 ppm today, as against 280 ppm in the pre-industrial era, and it is continuing to increase at 2 ppm every year. Earth is already 1.2 Degree C warmer than the pre-industrial average Celsius hotter than the pre-industrial era. If the carbon emissions continue at the present rate, we will soon reach the 2 degrees Celsius ‘upper limit’ to global warming, set at the 1992 Rio Summit, and 2015 Paris Conference. Global warming and the corresponding climate change are already showing their colours with increasing heat waves, frequent droughts in rainfed areas, forest fires in the Amazon, incessant rainfalls in historically dry regions, and whatnot. It is becoming very clear that urgent climate action should be our topmost priority for at least a few decades.
But do we need to compromise economic development to save the planet? Do we need to reduce our standard of living to save the planet? No, we do not. Fast-paced economic development and modern lifestyle demand huge amounts of energy, primarily electricity. Industries that produce electricity, especially from coal power plants, are the major contributors to carbon dioxide emissions. A 1000 MW capacity coal power plant emits 6.3 million tons of CO2 annually. And India currently has 205 GW (205000 MW) capacity coal power plants. They are emitting 1291.5 billion tons of CO2 annually. Even though the government has planned to become a ‘Net Zero Emitter’ by 2070, it is not planning to shut down any coal power plant till 2030. This means that we will continue to emit 1291.5 billion tons of CO2 annually at least for 6 more years.
But why is the government not shutting down the coal power plants if it knows the havoc they created? The answer is quite simple for India. It’s the energy demand required for 1.4 billion people. According to the Ministry of Power, we produced 1625 billion units of electricity in 2022-23. Out of which, 1460 billion units of electricity, which is more than 90% of our demand, were produced from fossil fuels, mainly coal. Thus, we cannot shut down the largest energy-providing generators without arranging for an equally large energy provider that is clean, green and available on demand anytime with no carbon emissions. Renewables like solar, wind, biomass and hydropower plants do produce electricity with meagre carbon emissions but they face many challenges. They all require huge land and have a plant load factor (PLF) of less than 25% (PLF is the ratio of electricity produced to energy input). India is committed to bringing non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. The current non-fossil capacity is only 180 GW. Thus, we need to install an additional 320 GW of solar, wind, biomass, hydro and nuclear power plants. To install 320GW of solar, wind, biomass and hydropower plants, a minimum investment of 16 lakh crore rupee and a minimum land measuring 16 lakh acres is required. Achieving that in 6 years is nearly impossible. Moreover, the PLF of 25% makes 320 GW of renewable power plants produce only 80 GW of electricity or require 4 times the land area, a plant of 4 times the required capacity. Thus, we cannot rely heavily on renewables to fulfil our gigantic energy demands.
Small and Micro-modular nuclear reactors have emerged to provide a one-stop solution for all these problems. As the name goes, they are much smaller than the traditional large nuclear power plants. This eliminates the need for huge land acquisitions. Moreover, they are factory-made (modular), making it possible to directly deploy the reactors on-site. This reduces the construction time to only a few months. These modular reactors have Gen-3 and Gen-4 technology which deploy passive safety systems causing them to shut down immediately & without human interference whenever a danger is sensed. Reactors like CANDU reactors even allow refuelling during active operation. Newly developed advanced safety features and waste disposal systems ensure that radioactive nuclear material never gets spread. Small Modular Reactors (SMR) are rapidly gaining rapid acceptance due to phenomenally high safety, modular design and a nearly 100% PLF. Gone are the days of getting concerned at the mention of the word ‘Nuclear’!
Modular reactors are perfectly suited for providing energy to remote places or army base camps, like the Himalayas, where the conventional electricity grid cannot reach. They can also provide sufficient energy for energy-hogging data centres of the future and industry hubs which require a steady, massive electricity supply. Nuclear power plants have a PLF of 90%, as against 25% of renewables, and they can produce the highest amount of electricity. Modular reactors can build a microgrid of their own to provide local energy demands. Furthermore, the microgrid can be supplemented by other renewables making it a smart microgrid. SMRs also provide very high climate change resilience.
According to a recent study by IIMA and NPCIL, if nuclear energy is upgraded to more than 200 GW capacity, CO2 emissions from electricity generation can be reduced to 50-100 gm/kWh from the current 765gm/kWh. Moreover, it promises the lowest electricity price at the consumer end compared to other scenarios where renewables and coal power plants with carbon capture capacity have more share in electricity production. The currently operating 7 GW nuclear power plants are all traditional large plants. But small and micro modular reactors offer a quick, easy and efficient way of upgrading nuclear power.
India’s exponentially growing electricity demands and its commitment to become ‘Net Carbon Zero’ can both be achieved through small and micro modular nuclear reactors more quickly.
Written by Sanyukta Chougale, senior research intern, EECC, PIC