Small is big for India's energy future

Small modular reactors are ideal for India if supported by the right policies

- LAVEESH BHANDARI

There is a new kid on the block – the small modular nuclear reactor or SMR – and it has the potential to overhaul India's energy landscape. However, the way things work, much needs to be done before India can roll out a comprehensive SMR-based power generation programme.

But first, the context. Going forward, India will need to double its electricity generation every eight to 10 years. While conventional renewable energy (RE) generation is now cheap, storage is not. Moreover, RE in the form of wind and solar is heavily impacted by seasonal and daily cycles, as well as weather-related unpredictability. Therefore, India has no choice but to diversify into other non-fossil generating sources.

Diversification no doubt reduces the riskiness and volatility of power availability, but if done smartly, can also reduce the costs of power generation.

Of the other energy sources, geothermal and tidal are too nascent, and biofuels are too costly. Greater generation of nuclear power, therefore, makes eminent sense. The fact that it is consistent and available 24x7 addresses the storage problem, further adding to its attractiveness.

However, the problem with a large nuclear power plant is that it takes time to build – almost a decade to construct–needs a lot of land, and requires many precautions from the building stage onward. Enter the sub-300 MW nuclear solution. A combination of technological changes and rationalisation of regulations has made sub-300 MW units a viable energy option. With lower costs and size, the potential for a greater number of operational units has increased. This, in turn, has enabled nuclear power plant suppliers to innovate by modularising these units, building them elsewhere, and transporting them to the operational location. If they do so, costs can go down further due to economies of scale.