Nuclear energy: fixing the finance

Syllabus: GS-I, Subject: Geography, Topic: Industry – World and India, Issue: Nuclear Power plants

Context: Brussels hosted the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit.

Significance of Nuclear power plants

  • Emits four times less carbon than solar farms and other renewables.
  • Offers uninterrupted energy supply regardless of geographical constraints.
  • Lower operating costs, smaller land footprint, and longer life cycles compared to other renewable sources.
  • Nuclear technology advancements (Small Modular Reactors) aim to mitigate nuclear-related risks.

Concerns

  • Multilateral Development Banks and private investors have not significantly financed nuclear projects.
  • Weaponization risk, radiation leaks, regulation, high upfront costs, and long project overruns hinder nuclear energy adoption in India.

The way ahead:

  • Cooperative funding models in France, South Korea and the U.K. involve investors raising credit from the market and taking responsibility for project delivery.
  • Finland’s ‘Mankala’ model, where multiple private companies jointly own energy producers, has successfully funded large power plants since the 1970s.
+1 advantage for mains (Data points)

●         India’s nuclear industry is undergoing liberalization with plans to triple capacity to 22 GW by 2031-2032.

●         Despite its versatility, nuclear power contributes only 1.6% to India’s renewable energy mix.

●         At COP 28 ,a declaration emphasized tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050.

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