Energy security gets a leg up, as nuke power is cheap

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: The Manmohan Singh-George Bush statement at the end of the former’s visit to Washington DC two days ago reveals a clear adherence to the ideology of our political parties. Though the Left is critical, as expected, it is unlikely that it would withdraw support to the government in power over this issue.

Setting polemics aside, the statement deserves to be welcomed for a number of reasons. First, it opens many doors for a significantly higher percentage of nuclear power in the grid, at present as low as 2.5%. Second, the prospect of reducing our energy production deficit through building and commissioning more power reactors (based on low enrichment uranium and unit size of 1,000 mwe or more) in a short period (now about four years, compared to seven-eight years earlier) brightens considerably.

Third, the spiralling price of oil would upset the kwh cost of distributed electricity from non-nuclear plants and customers and may not be forever docile. Fourth, there is a finite probability of disruptions in assured fuel supply over the lifetime of coal or oil plants, due to factors beyond the producer’s control. Generally, such disruptions in nuclear facilities are overplayed, while those in non-nuclear plants are underplayed. Fifth, the pace of building nuclear power plants with foreign assistance has been poor, due to a twisted interpretation of ‘self-reliance’ and the price being paid for ‘indigenisation.’ This price is increasing by the day.

An important factor seems to be missed by critics, who perceive this development in Indo-US relations as a Faustian bargain. Nuclear majors in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), like Germany, Canada, France and Russia, have not been able to make their presence felt much in India, mainly due to the position held by the US that nuclear cooperation with non-NPT countries should be actively discouraged. The Manmohan-Bush statement effectively makes this opposition a thing of the past. It goes a step further. Enriched uranium supplies would be smooth and uninterrupted.

The nuclear power reactor design and manufacture industry in the US has been dormant for nearly three decades. So, the prospect of a US firm building power reactors for India is zero or negligible—assuming that India would approach US industry. Hence, concerns raised in this regard do not appear to be based on US reality.