Nuclear Power Adavantages

546 Words3 Pages
In India Power generation has failed to keep pace with rapid economic growth. This has widened the energy deficit. Over 50% of India’s households lack electric supply. Current power generation is 1.7 lakh MW of which 70% is generated using fossil fuels. By 2020 consumption demand is expected to be double the current demand. There is an urgent need to ramp up electricity generation. In India nearly 50 % of the population does not have electricity. Some of the reasons of the power shortage are as under: 1. Faulty Planning, 2. Sharp increase in demand, 3. Delay in construction of power projects, 4. Inter- State disputes, 5. Erratic monsoons, 6. Plant outages due to poor quality of power plant equipment, improper operation and maintenance, 7. Transmission losses, 8. Shortage of coal, 9. Poor utilisation of generating equipment. So there is urgent need to bridge the shortage of power in india and answer to that question is nuclear power. Fossil fuel like coal which is used to produce more than 50% of India’s electricity is highly polluting and coal may not last for more than a century looking at the present rate of coal exploitation. Generation from Hydroelectricity is highly erratic because it entirely depends upon the rainfall because in India the rainfall is seasonal and erratic. That is why nuclear power is the only answer to the power shortages in India. The arguments for favouring the nuclear power are as follows: Nuclear power plants can be set up in any part of the country. It requires very less space and It can began operations in a very short time. Compared to coal the nuclear plant does not pollute the environment much, radioactive wastes can be disposed off scientifically without effecting the land and people living near the plant. Nuclear plants require very less raw materials compared to thermal plant. It can produce more electricity than coal
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