Electricity has been part of our lives. It has brought many things that surely have made many wonders and life would seem so hard without it. So which is the best source of energy to address Indian needs? Find out here.

1. A NOTE ON POWER SCENARIO
AND THE NEED OF NUCLEAR
POWER IN INDIA
Prepared by:-
1. Mukesh Gupta, Scientific Officer/D , Quality Assurance Department, Kudankulam Nuclear Power project.
2. P.A. Suresh Babu, Head of Quality Assurance Department, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
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2. 1. Introduction to electricity
Electricity has been part of our lives. It has brought many things that surely have made many wonders and life
would seem so hard without it. The use of electrical power categorized such as residential sector includes
private households and apartment buildings where energy is consumed primarily for space heating, water
heating, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, cooking, and clothes drying and other appliances. The
commercial sector includes nonmanufacturing business establishments such as hotels, motels, restaurants,
street and highway lighting, wholesale businesses, retail stores, health, social, religious and educational
institutions, and government. The industrial sector includes manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture,
fishing, and forestry establishments. And the last transportation sector which includes railroads and railways
where electricity is used for traction, including urban public transportation.
2. Present consumption of electricity in the world
Energy is a vital factor in industrial production and the lifeblood of any nation's economic development. In 2010,
world total of electricity production and consumption was 21248TWh. 17635TWh (83%) of electric energy was
consumed by final users. The difference of 3612TWh (17%) was consumed in the process of generating power
and consumed as transmission loss. Following figure shows the electricity consumption in the world. The
following figure presents the world power consumption as per August 2010 i.
Shortage of
electric power will not only compromise a social comfort level but also seriously hamper the economic growth of
a nation. The relationship between power consumption and national economic development has a great
significance. Power consumption statistics are vital indicators for gauging the economic growth. Developing
countries, in comparison with developed countries, generally have higher growth rates of population, energy,
and electricity. There are currently also striking disparities of total and per capita energy and electricity
consumption. To achieve economic development and industrial progress, an increased supply of energy and of
electricity is of vital importance. At the world level, electricity consumption was cut down by 1.5% during 2009,
for the first time since World War II. Except in Asia and Middle East, consumptions were reduced in all the world
regions. In OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, accounting for 53% of
the total, electricity demand scaled down by more than 4.5 % in both Europe and North America while it shrank
by above 7% in Japan. Electricity demand also dropped by more than 4.5% in CIS (Commonwealth of
Independent States) countries, driven by a large cut in Russian consumption. Conversely, in China and India (22%
of the world's consumption), electricity consumption continued to rise at a strong pace (+6-7%) to meet energy
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3. needs related to high economic growth. In Middle East, growth rate was softened but remained high; just below
4%ii (refer following figureiii).
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4. The present power scenario in the world is presented in following listii&iv (top ten countries included).
Rank Country Year 2010 Electricity Population million Annual KWh per capita
consumption (TWh)
— World 21,248 6,784 3132
1 USA 4,365 307 14218
2 China 4,160 1,339 3107
3 Japan 1,065 127 8386
4 Russia 1,049 140 7493
5 India 918 1,166 787
6 Germany 625 82 7622
7 Canada 619 33 18757
8 France 572 64 8937
9 Brazil 495 199 2487
10 S. Korea 487 49 9939
From the above table it is clear that India is having lowest Average power per capita available among the top ten
power consuming countries and significantly below the world’s average. As GDP growth accelerates to an
ambitious 8 to 10%, the shortage of power will become more severe.
3. Present power scenario in India
India is a nation in transition. Considered an "emerging economy," increasing GDP is driving the demand for
additional electrical energy, as well as transportation fuels. The electricity sector in India supplies the world's 5th
largest energy consumer, accounting for 4.0% of global energy consumption by more than 17% of global
population. Rapid economic growth has created a growing need for dependable and reliable supplies of
electricity, gas and petroleum products. Due to the fast-paced growth of India's economy, the country's energy
demand has grown an average of 3.6% per annum over the past 30 years. In August 2011, the installed power
generation capacity of India stood at 181.558 GW and per capita energy consumption stood at 787kWh. The
country's annual energy production increased from about 190 billion kWh in 1986 to more than 837 billion kWh
in 2010v.
During the year 2010-11, the energy requirement registered a growth of 3.7% during the year against the
projected growth of 5.6% (refer following figurevi) and Peak demand registered a growth of 2.6% against the
projected growth of 6.5%, though the total ex-bus energy availability increased by 5.6% over the previous year
and the peak met increased by 6.0%, the shortage conditions prevailed in the Country both in terms of energy
and peaking availability. Base load requirement was 861,591 (MU) against availability of 788,355 MU which is a
shortage is 73,236 MU i.e. 8.5% deficit. During peak load the demand was for 122,287 MW against availability of
110,256 MW which is a shortage of 12,031 MW i.e. 9.8%. Electricity losses in India during transmission and
distribution are high. Due to shortage of electricity, power cuts are common throughout India and this has
Adversely affected the country's economic growthv.
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5. Operation performance of generating stations in the country during the year 2010-11
Electric Energy Generation Target for the year 830.8 BU
Actual Electric Energy Generation during the year 811.1 BU
Growth in generation during 2010-11 5.55 %
The details of generation and growth rates are given below in the tablevi.
Category Target 2010- Actual 2010- % of Target Actual Last Year Growth
11(BU) 11*(BU) 2009-10(BU) (%)
Thermal 690.9 664.9 96.24 640.5 3.81
Nuclear 22.0 26.3 119.48 18.6 41.04
Hydro 111.4 114.3 102.64 103.9 10.01
Bhutan Import 6.5 5.6 85.68 5.4 4.69
Total 830.8 811.1 97.63 768.4 5.55
* Generation excludes generation from plants up to 25 MW Capacity.
Energy resources availability in India
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6. Most of the world's energy resources are from the sun's rays hitting earth. Some of that energy has been
preserved as fossil energy; some is directly or indirectly usable; for example, via wind, hydroelectric or wave
power. The energy sources have been split into three categories: fossil fuels, renewable sources, and nuclear
sources. The fossil fuels covered here are coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The renewable energy sources are
solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, and
geothermal power. The nuclear-
powered sources are fission and fusion.
Figure to right shows energy resources in
India.
Oil is the world’s favorite energy source
Which comprises 38% to the total energy
production closely followed by coal
(26%) and
gas (23%). Both nuclear and
Hydroelectric energy sources contribute
Equally at 6% each with the remaining
1% coming from solar, wind, wood,
wave, tidal, and geothermal sources.
About 65.34% of the electricity consumed in
India is generated by thermal power
plants, 21.53% by hydroelectric power
plants, 2.70% by nuclear power plants and
10.42% by Renewable Energy Sources.
More than 50% of India's commercial
energy demand is m et th r o u g h the
country's vast coal reserves. The country has
also invested heavily in recent years in renewable energy utilization, especially wind energyv.
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4. Pros and cons of energy resources
4.1 Fossil fuel
4.2 Hydroelectricity
4.3 Other Renewable Energy
4.4 Nuclear power
5. Comparison of death/TWh for all energy sources
6. Nuclear power plant features
7. Misconception among public about Nuclear power
8. Why some countries are phasing out nuclear power plant?
9. Conclusion :
10. References:
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