Nuclear Energy

While the costs of large dams are huge, the benefits are less than projected. Silting of dams
leads to a decline in their actual storage capacity, in many cases severely, due to which the area
irrigated by them decreases. dcxxxi It also results in decreased electricity generation from their
associated power plant. A survey of 208 operational hydel projects in India done by Himamshu
Thakkar of South Asian Network for Dams, Rivers, and People (SANDRP) in March 2007 found
that power generation at 184 of these (88% of those surveyed) was less than the design capacity.
And for 90 of these projects (i.e. for 50% of those surveyed), the actual generation of electricity was
less than 50% of the design capacity! dcxxxii
Therefore, it is not surprising that cost-benefit studies of many large hydro power projects
have found that the benefits are less than the costs! dcxxxiii No wonder that the report of the World
Commission on Dams, which was sponsored by the World Bank, concluded that: “given the high
capital cost, long term gestation period, and the environmental and social costs, hydro-power is not
the preferred option for power generation compared to other options." dcxxxiv
In the light of these facts, the proposal of the government to construct large hydro power projects of
nearly three times the present capacity of 37 GW over the next two decades is going to be
absolutely disastrous, for both the people and the environment.
3. Conclusion
Clearly, then, the government’s plans of setting up giant-sized coal, hydro and nuclear
power plants to produce the electricity required to power India’s future growth:
xii. will not solve the energy crisis of the majority of the Indian people living in the rural areas,
who continue to be without electricity even 60 years after Independence;
xiii. will have unacceptable environmental and social costs.
The question then arises: is there a sustainable solution to this crisis, is there an environmentally
friendly way of meeting the genuine present and future electricity needs of all sections of the Indian
people?
Part III: The Sustainable Alternative: A New Energy Paradigm
It is possible to find a way out of this crisis, but that would call for a totally new approach to
energy planning. Firstly, we need to reorient our energy planning towards meeting the energy
requirements of all sections of the population, and not just the energy needs of the elites living in
the cities. The indicator of development must not be statistics showing total energy consumed, but
whether the basic energy needs of the people, starting from the poorest sections, are being met.
Secondly, we need to recognize that what really matters is not how much energy is generated, but
how much of it is finally being converted to work by energy devices (what is called “useful”
energy). This is, we must focus on increasing the services provided by energy, like lighting, heating,
cooling, etc., instead of blindly increasing electricity generation. Finally, the energy supply system
must be environment friendly, we cannot ignore its environmental costs.
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