India-US Nuclear Deal

DM, Majumder...
Low cost solar cells are one of the thrust area of research for long time. My final year project (Graduation) was on low cost thin film solar cells. Metal oxide/metal sulphide semiconductors are really good, cheap alternative for local consumption (like village schools) in remote areas. Regarding silicon crystal, high efficiency solar cells, India has couple of companies who manufacture it. If State Govt. can distribute color TVs to BPL families, so they can for small solar units.
In remote islands of Sunderbans, wind and solar power is used quite effectively.
Regarding wind power in Koramandel coast, Bay of Bengal is one of the most turbulent seas. So, we can harness quite decent amount of wind power from it.In my locality 3/4 wind turbines are providing decent energy to all of us. The potential is upto 25 MWe, which can cover 1/4 of the district.

Vengy,

PLF is low (usually 15-25%) becuase the wind conditions are not favourable. That is it is not equally windy throughout the year.

Similar problems exist with hydel too, with PLFs being seldom above 50% (except in NE India). in non monsoon season the PLF can be really low less than 10% even. But there is an advantage with hydel. You can build a small dam with limited pondage capacity so that you synchronise the period of generation with the peaking requirement of the grid. But you cant do that with wind.

Regards

Re: # 28

Majumdar,

Do you mean to say PLF is bad because of insufficient offtake or mechanical failures? As far mechanicl failures, I am of the understanding that makers like 'Suzlon' have come out with reliable products.

Vengy, Windmills are good investment given that operating costs are practically nil and also good tax breaks. But windmills seldom have PLFs of over 25% and are thus not a very reliable source of power and will account for only a small part of the counrty's power basket.

Regards

Re: # 26

Majumdar,

Wind mills are not commissioned to operate during windy months. This will not be feasible in the long run. The terrain needs to meet certain criteria to qualify to erect wind mills. The major thrust would be on the 'average wind speed' over the terrain all throughout the year. The altitude and undisturbed plain without too many small hillock also matter.

All of the Tirunelveli/Nagerkovil district in Tamilnadu especially Kayathar, which has the largest wind farming in India or proly Asia, are proving to be good investment. The wind mills can be run all through the year. Ironically the state Government is not settling the bills promptly and at the prevailing market rates. This has resulted in quite a few windmills being suspended.

DM,

The main problem with solar and wind apart from the cost of course is that they are very time specific, i.e wind power only in windy months and solar power during clear daytime. Biomass to a great extent is independent of this. You can run a biomass based power plant like any other fuel based plant 24 hrs.

Biomass is very decentralised and its viability depends upon locally available fuel. It is gaining ground in India (some Southern states especially) although only a small portion has been harnessed. To the best of my knowldege the cost of power works out to less than Rs. 3/unit and can be produced on a small scale for local consumption.

Dont know anything about mini-nukes so can't comment.

Regards

This deal is about the nuclear fuel availability as even existing reactors are running at 2/3rd capacity to save fuel. It is silly to talk of geopolitics and US hold on India when the lights are out and industry is melting downdut to power cuts everyday. Growth, specially of small industry is held back creating social unrest in small towns.

This agreement is no surrender and not for a life time. When world including US agreed to revise their policies, barely a few years after Indian nuclear explosion, why will they not change the same when India will be further more powerful economically.

Indian communists are still preparing agendas and manifestoes of yesteryear. BJP never hesitated in digging Mandir/ Masjid to get votes.

Having considered myself a leftist for all my life, I'm ashamed of communitsts' short sightedness and political expediency.

majumdar#22,23:

I do not know the economics of biomass versus mininukes. But do you know if biomass route is being used extensively and, if not, why not?

Re. wind-powered and solar energy, we have been hearing for a long time that they are too expensive; how much more expensive does oil have to go for them to be competitive with oil?

I suspect that the oil lobbies may be preventing major funding for developing the economies of scale for these alternatives.

Nkg,

The problem with solar is that at existing technology levels it is too expensive. Wind power is highly seasonal and not a reliable source of energy. But both are useful sources of power at local levels along with biomass and small hydel.

Having mini-nuclear reactors is a hare brained idea at the best.

Regards

Re: # 21
Koromondel coast can foster wind energy and Rajasthan and Gujrat can foster solar energy.
India has large base for manufacturing equipment of both types of energy. We have to apply it properly.

DM sahib,

There are better alternatives to nuclear reactors in remote ares- biomass/hydel.

Regards

Re: # 19
I know, the way they miniaturised reactors to be used in Nuke Powered Submarines and Aircraft Carriers...
But for the time beeing we need largest ones in states where coal is not easily available...
(Gujrat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh)...

Regarding clean energy; private energy players can bank on the wind technology available with Suzlon.Suzlon is 5th largest manufacturer of wind power equipment of the world. We should exploit it.

nkg:

Why not? If these small reactors are cheap and easily portable (I believe that can be transported on a truck), they would be ideal for serving small areas, esp. in remote areas.

DM...
Regarding small reactors, populous country like India can not follow such models. Look at the strategy adopted by China and Japan. Almost all their new plants are equiped with units with production capacity more than 1000MWe.

Even the last two reactors India is working on are of 1000MWe each.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koodankulam_Nuclear_Power_Plant

http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/AP1000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Simplified_Boi ling_Water_Reactor

A section of media and so called experts try to project that nuclear power is dead subject.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER
India is part of prestigious ITER project but can not procure civilian nuke tech!!!

Hope BJP takes some positive decision in favour of the deal.

HP...
FYI
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Missile-warning-system-India -to-start-production/316173

DM...
You are right. The basic point raised by A B Bardhan (CPI) was in line of that. While USS Nimitz was docked closed to Chennai port, most of the Indian channels were airing the concerns of left parties.
US wants to bind India through the deal (part of strategic partnership initiative) such that, they can use India (HAL, Tata and L & T) as manufacturing base for defence products (not the latest ones like JSF, but F/A-18 Super Hornet etc...) which they can use in middle east and other parts of Asia. In return India will purchase the civilian high tech equipments as well as these war machines. Already, for purchase of C-140J hercules, Boeing has started procuring components from HAL and may even transfer some technology.
Last couple of decades, India was able to create a base for high technology (through LCA Tejas project, India was able to create infrastructure for manufacturing Titanium alloys, Carbon composites, FBW, Manufacturing component for jet engines and assembling...). What the IT and telecom companies have done (Microsoft, IBM, HP, Honeywell, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia...), they want to replicate it. GOI or common people may not have much stake in it. But industries definitely have.
Apart from left parties, I have found opposition from ex-admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. And Incidentaly his wife is Muslim and partially communist.

#13 Posted by HP on May 28, 2008 11:54:06 pm


Last I heard the State Dept. was not even answering the phone calls from the Indian PM.


Last you heard from the voices in your head?