The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : IGCAR innovating nuclear fuel cycles

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Friday, Aug 03, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

IGCAR innovating nuclear fuel cycles

Special Correspondent

Effort to lower cost of energy, says Baldev Raj

CHENNAI: The Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) is innovating nuclear fuel cycles to lower the cost of energy, even as it prepares to commission the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor by 2010, according to IGCAR Director Baldev Raj.

Addressing reporters on the sidelines of a lecture series launched on Thursday in connection with the diamond jubilee celebrations of Ethiraj College, he said the Rs. 3400-crore prototype reactor envisaged supplying electricity at Rs. 3.22 a unit to the Southern Grid.

“We’re trying to lower the price further and provide power at around Rs. 2 per unit when additional breeder reactors go on stream.” Apart from the 500-MWe prototype, the IGCAR was also establishing four other fast breeder reactors.

While two of them would be located at Kalpakkam, the site of the other reactors was yet to be finalised, Dr. Raj said.

‘Nuclear island’

At Kalpakkam, the civil work on the ‘nuclear island’ that would house the plant was almost complete and critical engineering components would be lowered into position shortly, he said.

India had emerged as the world leader in FBR technology. Future fast reactors would be able to generate much more energy, though their acceptance would hinge on their safety, economy quotient and environment-friendliness, he said.

Earlier, addressing students, Dr. Raj said most parents encouraged their children to pursue arts only to dissuade them from the ‘distraction’ at a later stage. Contrary to public perception, there was a great deal of commonality between science and fine arts.

Dr. Raj urged students to challenge themselves to do the seemingly impossible. For the true scientist, Nature was the greatest inspiration.

Open door policy

The IGCAR had an open door policy for any student keen on science, Dr. Raj said. The IGCAR tried to strike a balance between networking with institutions with expertise and collaborating with academia for harvesting fresh thought.

S. Vincent, member-secretary, Tamilnadu State Council for Science and Technology, said it planned to launch a campaign to bring back the Galileo invention, the telescope, to public consciousness. The campaign targeting college and school students would roll out shortly.

Former Madras High Court judge and chairman, Board of Trustees of the College, S. Jagadeesan; M. Thavamani, principal; Leela Abraham, vice-principal; and Rani Christhu Das, reader, Physics Department, that hosted the event, participated.

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