Decarbonization and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)
Introduction:
- The UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: “To ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all” serves as a major compass for the global effort to decarbonize itself.
Difficulties with decarbonisation:
- Major obstacles must be overcome in order to make the switch from coal-fired power generation to clean energy, and politicians in many nations agree that solar and wind energy alone will not be sufficient to meet everyone’s needs for affordable electricity.
- According to the International Energy Agency, by 2030, there will likely be a 3.5-fold rise in demand for vital minerals including lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements that are needed for sustainable energy production technologies.
- The development of new mines and processing facilities would require significant financial investments, which will present a number of worldwide difficulties.
- The construction of several new mines and processing facilities in China, Indonesia, Africa, and South America over a short period of time will have an adverse environmental and social impact. Additionally, the top three countries that produce and process minerals currently control 50–100% of the world’s extraction and processing capacity.
The drawbacks of nuclear power:
- 10% of the world’s electricity is produced by nuclear power plants (NPPs), which also reduce annual natural gas demand by 180 billion cubic metres and CO2 emissions by 1.5 billion tonnes.
- NPPs are effective land users, and because they produce electricity constantly in all types of weather, they have lower grid integration costs than sources of variable renewable energy (VRE).
- High-skill jobs in technology, manufacturing, and operations are among the useful side advantages of nuclear power.
- Time and cost overruns have always been a problem for conventional NPPs. Small modular reactors (SMRs), nuclear power plants with a maximum capacity of 300 MW, are being developed by a number of nations as an alternative to conventional nuclear power plants (NPPs).
- By reusing existing infrastructure, SMRs can be built on decommissioned thermal power plant sites, saving the host nation from having to purchase additional land and/or relocate residents outside of the current site border.
Benefits of SMRs:
- In comparison to traditional NPPs, SMRs are built with a lower core damage frequency and source term (a measure of radioactive pollution).
- For added safety, they also feature improved seismic isolation.
- The possibility for the uncontrolled release of radioactive elements into the environment is reduced by the fact that SMR designs are more straightforward than those of traditional NPPs and incorporate a number of passive safety mechanisms.
- Additionally, less spent nuclear fuel will be stored in an SMR plant than in a traditional NPP.
- SMRs can be erected and operated safely at a number of brownfield sites that might not satisfy the more onerous zoning criteria for traditional NPPs, according to studies.
- Because uranium supplies are not as concentrated as deposits of key minerals, accelerating the deployment of SMRs under international safeguards by implementing a coal-to-nuclear transition at existing thermal power-plant sites will bring India closer to net-zero and enhance energy security.
- SMRs have a decreased chance of time and cost overruns because they are typically produced in a factory and assembled on site.
- Additionally, the production of SMRs in serial quantities can lower costs by streamlining the design of the facility to enable quicker regulatory approvals and hands-on experience with serial production.
SMRs being integrated into the national grid:
- The generation capacity of India’s coal-based thermal power plants (TPPs) must be enhanced, while the generation capacity of VRE sources must be improved, according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) of India.
- By 2031–2022, the CEA predicts that TPPs would provide more than half of the country’s electricity, with VRE sources and NPPs contributing 35% and 4.4%, respectively.
- Given that India has pledged to become net-zero by 2070, the nation’s nuclear power output must significantly increase.
- To decarbonize India’s energy industry, it is crucial to attract investments from the private sector (in PPP mode), as the government cannot afford to make the sizeable investments needed for NPP expansion on its own.
Way ahead:
- To permit the establishment of SMRs by the private sector, the Atomic Energy Act must be changed.
- Control of nuclear fuel and radioactive waste must continue to reside with the Government of India in order to maintain safety, security, and safeguards.
- Additionally, a law must be passed by the government to establish a regulatory body that is independent, powerful, and qualified to monitor every phase of the nuclear power production cycle.
- While privately owned SMRs can be operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation during the hand-holding procedure, the security around SMRs must remain under government supervision.
- Finally, the Department of Atomic Energy must better disseminate thorough environmental and public health statistics of the Indian civilian reactors, which are run under international safeguards, in order to change how the general public views nuclear power in India.
