A Review of Recent Advancements in Nuclear Power Generation

Demand of Electrical Energy is increasing day by day. A steep increase in power generation capacity is needed to meet the demand. According to projections nuclear energy is having the potential to meet the demand in the long run. Twenty two nuclear power reactors are in operation now in India and have a total installed capacity of 6780 MW. Nine nuclear reactors are under construction which has a capacity of 6700 MW (including PFBR). Ten nuclear power reactors of 700 MW each are approved by Government of India recently and the site selection process is completed. Few more reactors aiming at a capacity addition of around 30000 MW are planned under international collaboration. We have limited quantity of Natural Uranium and abundant quantity of Thorium in our country. Three phase nuclear power programme of our country envisages to achieve energy security by effective use of these nuclear resources. Development and deployment of Fast Breeder Reactors with plutonium as fuel and sodium as the coolant, reprocessing of the fast reactor spent fuel to close the fuel cycle, development of advanced heavy water reactors, development of compact high temperature reactors and activities related to fusion reactor programme with international collaboration are the major advancements taking place in our country today. This paper reviews and summarizes the present status of Indian nuclear power programme and associated research and development activities progressing in our country to achieve energy security.