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Nuclear Energy and Climate Change

Nuclear Energy and Climate Change. by. R. Chidambaram Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India. Talk in INFN, Frascati, Italy, 16 th March, 2009. The many Paths to Energy Security The Nuclear Path I have been saying for 2 decades now:

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Nuclear Energy and Climate Change

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  1. Nuclear Energy and Climate Change by R. Chidambaram Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India Talk in INFN, Frascati, Italy, 16th March, 2009

  2. The many Paths to Energy Security The Nuclear Path I have been saying for 2 decades now: “Nuclear Energy is an inevitable option to satisfy India’s future energy needs” The Renewable Path “Today, America faces grave challenges in the field of energy – from the gathering storm of global warming to a dangerous addiction to oil that jeopardizes our national and economic security…. An energy future based on abundant and clean renewable resources is not only urgently needed, but achievable” And then, of course, Efficiency

  3. IPCC Assessment The Fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) concluded from direct observations of changes in temperature, sea level, and snow cover in the northern hemisphere during 1850 to the present, that the warming of the earth’s climate system is unequivocal. The global atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) has increased from a pre-industrial value of about 280 ppm to 379 ppm in 2005. Multi model averages show that the temperature changes between 2090-2099 relative to 1980-1999 will range from 1.1 to 6.4°C and sea level rise from 0.18 to 0.59 meters. This large uncertainly derives partly from the modeling uncertainties and partly from the uncertainties in the global energy use scenario.

  4. The Synergies From the point of view of India, The mitigation technologies to counter the Climate Change Threat (nuclear, renewables, efficiency), coincide with the technologies we need to counter the depletion of fossil fuels. The drive towards nuclear in India (and China) is because of surging energy demand while the nuclear renaissance in the developed countries is also driven substantially by the climate change threat.

  5. Retain Consumer Power Price Wholesale Power Price Cost-Competitiveness of selected renewable power technologies, before credit for carbon savings Small Hydro Solar Photovoltaic Concentrating Solar Biomass Geothermal Wind 10 20 30 40 50 Power Generation Costs in USD cents/kWh from International Energy Agency April 2007

  6. Solar Power Global production of Solar Photovoltaics (PV) cells increased 51% in 2007 to 3,733 Megawatts. Europe – led by Germany – surpassed Japan in solar cell manufacturing (1,063 MW) in 2007. Germany remained the world leader in Solar PV installations, accounting for almost half the world total in 2007. Spain ranked second…. As in Germany, the Spanish market is driven by a strong guaranteed price for PV electricity….. China raced past the U.S. for PV cell manufacturing (for 2006) …. Most PV cells made in China are exported to Europe. Worldwatch Institute, May 14, 2008 The cost is still high. The Central Government in India offers a generation-based incentive upto Rs.12 (25 U.S. cents) per kWh unit to private sector players for setting up grid-interactive solar plants of a capacity of one MW and above. Out of 9147 MW Grid-Interactive power added from renewables in the last 5 years, wind power accounted for 7273 MW. There is a ‘Indian National Solar Mission’ proposed in the National Action Plan on Climate Change.

  7. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Technology (IGCC) for Indian high ash coal After extensive experimental work and computer simulations got done by a Working Group set up by PSA’s Office, during the last three years, starting with the technology developed by BHEL over the past two decades, the feasibility of IGCC process for high ash Indian coal has been established. This leads to cleaner and more efficient use of coal. BHEL and APGENCO have signed an agreement recently to set up a 125 MW plant at Vijayawada using IGCC technology

  8. NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY FORESIGHT • Three-stage Nuclear Power Programme (Sustainable Development of Nuclear Energy would inevitably require closing the nuclear fuel cycle. The same limited amount of uranium has a 600 – times higher energy potential, if the fuel cycle is closed with thorium). • Spin-offs in Agriculture, Medicine and Industry (In India, nuclear technology has acted as a catalyst for nucleating many other high technologies from parallel processing supercomputers to welding) • Development of Major Facilities for Research (research reactors, particle accelerators, synchrotron radiation sources, superconducting tokamak, advanced instrumentation)

  9. Three Stage Indian Nuclear Programme First Stage: PHWRs: Imported water cooled reactors: Second Stage: FBRs: Third Stage: PHWR Natural UO2 fuels SEU/MOX fuels FBTR (U-Pu) MOX / MC / Metallic Fuels (U-Pu Closed Cycle) AHWR (Th-Pu/233U MOX/ Metallic Fuels Molten salt fuels Thorium Utilisation (Th-U233) closed cycle Courtesy:H.S.Kamath

  10. International Conference on "Fifty Years of Nuclear Power – the next Fifty years" Moscow & Obninsk 27 June – 2 July 2004 In Celebration of the golden jubilee of going into operation of the first electric power generating reactor in the world on June 27, 1954 at Obninsk. This reactor AM-1 was a 5MW graphite-moderated and water cooled reactor. India commissioned its first research reactor Apsara in 1956 APSARAREACTOR. BARC, India Date of Criticality, August 4, 1956. First Nuclear Reactor in Asia

  11. PFBR Construction Phase Launched • PROTOTYPE FAST BREEDER REACTOR of 500 MWe has been designed by IGCAR. • A new Public Sector Company BHAVINI has launched construction of this reactor on 23rd October 2004. • Fabrication of large sized components such as Safety vessel and Main vessel in progress. PFBR Safety Vessel fabrication under progress Construction under progress Courtesy: H.S. Kamath Construction site of PFBR

  12. Advanced Heavy Water Reactor AHWR is a vertical pressure tube type, boiling light water cooled and heavy water moderated reactor using 233U-Th MOX and Pu-Th MOX fuel. • Major Design Objectives • Power output – 300 MWe with 500 m3/d of desalinated water. • A large fraction (65%) of power from thorium. • Extensive deployment of passive safety features – 3 days grace period, and no impact in public domain • Design life of 100 years. • Easily replaceable coolant channels. • Feb. 2007 – AERB completes pre-licensing safety appraisal of AHWR • April 2008 – AHWR critical facility commissioned • International recognition as an innovative Design Courtesy: R.K. Sinha

  13. Strategies for long-term energy security FBR using spent fuel from LWR Nuclear (Domestic 3-stage programme) LWR (Imported) Hydrocarbon Coal domestic Non-conventional Hydroelectric Projected requirement* *Ref: “A Strategy for Growth of Electrical Energy in India”, document 10, August 2004, DAE Courtesy: Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, AEC

  14. Scheme of Accelerator – Driven System • Benefits of sub-critical reactor: • Ensures criticality safety in energy producer and waste incinerator configurations. • One proton produces ~30 neutrons from cheaper and abundant material like Lead. • Economical and faster rate of production of new reactor fuel from thorium- an abundant indigenous nuclear fuel. Spallation target reactions

  15. Steady State Superconducting Tokamak India has now joined ITER co-operative programme Courtesy : P.K. Kaw

  16. ELETTRA: 3rd generation synchrotron ring Energy very similar to INDUS-II 63 Indian proposals for beamtime have been accepted after review jointly by DST, India and Sincrotrone, Italy. 62 co-authored research papers. Many projects on structure-based drug-design.

  17. Use of Synchrotron Radiation Sources Increasing! Indigenous: INDUS-2 AT RRCATIndore Access to outside SRS’s through DST in project mode, building and owning beam line instrument - powder, surface diffraction (Photon Factory, Tsukuba); building beam-line instrument in collaboration - macromolecule crystallogrphy & high pressure diffraction (ELETTRA, Trieste); buying access to beam-line instrument – macromolecular crystallography beam line at ESRF, Grenoble (by DBT); discussion on access to the new SRS PETRA-3 at Hamburg by paying for building and maintaining one beam line. (by DST).

  18. “U-TURN FOR NUCLEAR OPPONENTS” In a landmark article for the left-leaning Independent newspaper. New Statesman Writer Mark Lynas said the anti-nuclear campaigns of the past “will come to be seen as an enormous mistake for which the Earth’s climate is now paying the price”. Stephen Tindale(who ran the UK branch of Greenpeace from 2000 to 2005 told the newspaper, “It was like a kind of religious conversion. Being anti-nuclear was an essential part of being an environmentalist for a long time. “He now claims that ‘It’s actually quite widespread, now, this view that nuclear power is not ideal but it’s better than climate change.” Tindale’s announcements echo that of Patrik Moore, one of the Canadian founders of Greenpeace. Moore now advocates the use of nuclear power and large hydro for low-carbon power generation… 23 February 2009 – World Nuclear News. James Lovelock, Eminent Environmental Scientist and proponent of the Gaia Hypothesis, was the earliest to this U-turn in 2004. To reverse a long-standing (extreme) position requires high-integrity and character.

  19. Italian nuclear moved forward at summit 24 February 2009, World Nuclear News The 27th Franco-Italian summit saw delegations of ministers from both sides (conclude) a new agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy – Electricite` de France and Enel - partnership to conduct feasibility studies towards “at least four EPRS in Italy”. The Step is among the biggest that Italy has so far taken towards a re-employment of nuclear energy, ….(after) Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party put a return to nuclear energy in its manifesto.

  20. "Reinforcing the Global Nuclear Order for Peace and Prosperity - The Role of the IAEA to 2020 and Beyond" “Expanded use of nuclear technologies offers immense potential to meet important development needs. In fact, to satisfy energy demands and to mitigate the threat of climate change – two of the 21st century’s greatest challenges – there are major opportunities for expansion of nuclear energy in those countries that choose to have it”. from Report prepared by an independent Commission at the request of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency - 2008

  21. Closing of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle • The use of uranium in the once-through mode will enable the use of only a small fraction of the available uranium resource. • Fast reactors used in the closed fuel cycle mode provide the option for the full exploitation of the natural resources. This is further enhanced by inclusion of Thorium in the closed nuclear fuel cycle. • The closed fuel cycle, in comparison to the once-through cycle, reduces the volumes of waste requiring treatment and disposal. • With the closed fuel cycle, Nuclear is near-Renewable. • Then there is Nuclear Fusion.

  22. Closing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle in the Context of the Global Climate Change Threat (for nuclear to be a sustainable mitigating technology) from Chidambaram, Sinha & Patwardhan, Nuclear Energy Review 2007

  23. Grid Computing Initiatives in DAE A multi-gigabit/sec National Knowledge Network, with low latency, to connect knowledge institutions is being established in India. Regional WLCG in India • Two Tier II centres TIFR & VECC Lemon • EU-IndiaGrid Partner • Two year project started from Oct 2006 (5 European & 9 Indian partners) • Symposium in Bangalore on 13-14 Dec.2008 • DAE Grid • Sharing of Computational & Storage Resources among DAE Units. Courtesy: P.S. Dhekne

  24. Research Delivery Development Mechanisms for overcoming Major weaknesses in Technology Development and Delivery (Industrial Development vs Rural Development-Climate Change Response will involve both) Through innovative Interaction Interfaces for Industrial Development (e.g. CAR: Core Advisory Group for Automotive Research) and through ‘Directed Basic Research’ Through Innovative Technology Delivery Systems for Rural Development (e.g. RuTAG) CAR & RuTAG are initiatives of the PSA’s office

  25. What is ‘Directed Basic Research’ In its execution, and in the requirement of no other deliverables than knowledge generation, it is no different from conventional basic research. So the University academics should be comfortable with this kind of research. The selected areas are determined in a national perspective, just like in Technology Foresight. ‘Directed’ Basic Research may be in an area where the knowledge generation would benefit Indian Society in the long term, or it may be in area where the results of the research would benefit Indian Industry or our strategic interests in the long term, particularly in cross disciplinary technology areas. From R. Chidambaram, Current Science (2007)

  26. Possible Dominant Linkages among Needed Research and Development Efforts. Innovation Possibilities Societal Industry or Strategic Interest Societal Industry or Strategic Interest Scientific Interest Industry Interest (eg, CAR) (self-Directed/ Mega-Science) Basic Research Applied Research And Product Development Pre-Competitive Applied Research “Directed” Basic Research from R. Chidambaram, Current Science, 2007

  27. Human Development Index versus per capita electricity consumption For India to become a ‘developed’ country, the per capita electricity consumption has to increase manifold. And nuclear has to play an important role in this increase.

  28. Table – Per capita CO2 emissions Source: The World Bank Environment Department, 2007

  29. “We are determined that India’s per-capita GHG emissions are not going to exceed those of developed countries even while pursuing policies of development and economic growth”. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, at Heiligendamm in June, 2007

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