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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on November 22, 2024
Daily Insights and Initiatives for UPSC Exam Notes: Comprehensive explanations and high-quality material provided regularly for students
For Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance
For Mains Examination: GS-II, GS-III: Government policies and interventions; Indigenization of technology and developing new technology
Context:
India’s plans to get into the manufacturing value chain of Small Modular Reactors are yielding some positives with a handful of private players learnt to have shown interest in deploying these at their captive site
Read about:
What are small modular reactors (SMRs)?
How are SMRs different from traditional nuclear reactors?
Key takeaways:
- Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), which have a capacity ranging from 30 MWe to 300 MWe per unit, are increasingly recognized as essential for ensuring that nuclear energy remains a viable and competitive option in the future.
- India aims to secure a leadership role in the SMR sector as part of its commitment to transitioning to clean energy and to leverage SMRs as a technology-driven aspect of its foreign policy.
- Countries are looking to SMRs to help achieve their energy transition goals, and Russia is reportedly interested in enhancing its nuclear collaboration with India to include SMR partnerships.
- Typically, an SMR produces about one-third of the capacity of most conventional nuclear reactors used in nations like France, Russia, and the United States. These reactors are crucial for providing baseload power, allowing grid operators greater operational flexibility.
- When aggregated, SMRs can generate a significant amount of electricity, assisting in meeting the demand for more baseload power to complement the inconsistencies of renewable energy sources. While thermal generation is important in this context, nuclear energy presents a more carbon-neutral option for baseload generation.
- India's civil nuclear program has gradually increased reactor sizes, moving from the earlier 220 MWe models to the current 700 MWe pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
- However, the country maintains an advantage in the production and commercial operation of smaller reactors. The longstanding advocacy for SMRs is now poised to become mainstream, with potential backing from countries like the United States, particularly in financing and technology sharing.
- In the civil nuclear domain, India is promoting SMRs as a promising technology for industrial decarbonization, striving to take a leading role in the distribution of this technology. SMRs are viewed not only as effective for generating baseload power—where thermal energy is crucial—but also as a more carbon-neutral option alongside renewables.
- Designed for efficiency, SMRs have systems and components manufactured in a controlled factory setting and then transported to the installation site, which reduces construction time and costs—two significant issues associated with traditional large reactor projects.
- They offer deployment advantages, such as a smaller Emergency Planning Zone and passive safety systems, making them relatively safer compared to larger reactor projects
Follow Up Question
1.In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under "IAEA Safeguards" while others are not? (UPSC 2020)
A. Some use uranium and others use thorium
B. Some use imported uranium and others use domestic supplies
C. Some are operated by foreign enterprises and others are operated by domestic enterprises