During past few days , media is full of reports
about the Central Government’s “ Bold Decision “ to set up 10 Nuclear Power Plants
( totalling 7,000 MW ), at a cost of Rs 70,000 crores
As reported in Hindustan Times / DNA , following “
arguments “ , make this , a “ bold decision “ :
·
To pump in Rs 70,000 cr of Capital Expenditure into the economy at
a time when private investment continues to flag
·
To revive India’s moribund domestic nuclear industry
·
To help India ramp up its
renewable base-load power capacity
·
The sheer amount of money involved gives India’s domestic nuclear
firms, to scale up their designs and potentially break the 1,000 MW barrier
·
To leverage the domestic nuclear industry’s ability to manufacture
reactor components that were third cheaper than the global norm and make India
, a global hub of nuclear reactor technology and manufacturing
On face of it , all of the above make for eminent sense
!
Until you ask the following questions :
·
How come , no nuclear power plants have come up anywhere in the
World for past several decades ?
·
Why are old Nuclear Power
Plants closing down everywhere ?
·
If the power produced with
these 10 plants is going to cost the consumers , anywhere between Rs 5 – 7 / kwh , how can
it compete with the Solar Power at Rs 2 / kwh ? ( just wait this to happen by May 2018 ! )
·
Apparently , it will cost Rs 10 cr / MW for setting
up a Nuclear Plant as against Rs 5 cr / MW to set up a Solar power plant . What can justify this
?
·
Most likely , it will take TEN YEARS to construct
/ commission these Nuclear plants as against , ONE YEAR to put up SAME
CAPACITY , Solar
plants ! ( - which , incidentally , is THE TARGET for 2017-18 )
·
If the “
economics “ are so bad , which bank will finance these plants ? – knowing fully
well that these Rs 70,000 cr will become NPA , even before the plants go on stream !
Bankers are already losing sleep over that the Rs 5 lakh*crore that they
have advanced to some 60 +
Coal based power plants which are “ under construction “ ( meaning , “
stuck “ ! ) and not likely to ever get completed / commissioned , because no
DISCOM is ready to buy their “ expensive “ power at Rs 4 / kwh !
·
What about the “ Safety
concerns / fears “ of citizens residing near these proposed Nuclear Plants ? Have we forgotten Kudankulum / Jaitapur ?
In case , you need to confirm that this is not a “ bold “ but a “ bad “ decision , do read :
Industry
Meltdown: Is the Era of Nuclear Power Coming to an End?
Dear Shri
Piyush Goyalji ,
I urge you to take a
second look at this decision
21 May 2017
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
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