Not convinced about nuclear power

Ah! Democracy! Strange are its ways indeed. In any case, no refund for subscribers, so, we are stuck with this for now.

As explained earlier, our objection to the N-deal is mainly on the basis of strategic reasons. The current political environment of the world is pretty toxic and uncertain. Except France, most other countries have crossed over to the liberal side. Once the Olympics are over, heaven only knows what the Chinese will do. A liberal western Government will not blink before imposing sanctions on India for real or imagnary transgressions of the treaty, if it wins a few votes on that basis. So far India has managed to stay out of the radar of the NPT wallahs. Why stir up the shit pot?

In any case, it looks like we are going to have nuke power, lots of it. This is where the N-Deal starts to look like a huge fiasco.

A 2003 MIT study reveals that Nuclear power economics is very dubious. Huge upfront costs, as much as $12 billion for a single unit, can make it even more expensive. In the US, where nuke provides 20% of power, the industry has received a subsidy of more than $100 billion. For a quick reference, please read this Salon article.

An interesting quote from a US Pundit, to people of Australia (who have massive Uranium reserves!):

"I love the idea of nuclear energy if we can ever figure out a way to make it," he said.

"It's the most catastrophically expensive way to boil a pot of water that has ever been devised, and if we can figure out a way to make it economical and safe I'm all for it."

Yes, Virginia, if oil costs go beyond a certain threshold, Nuke power may become a cheaper alternative. This is too hypothetical. No one has ever done a convincing economic study on nuke power in India. Nuke power competitiveness depends on local factors. All the Government reports generally quote arbitrary international data, with no mention of up front costs or costs of over runs and inefficiency that is almost a hallmark of Government projects. Add to it all the overheads of inspection, land acquisition, safety etc.

Soon, the US may start offshore drilling. What if oil price makes a retreat? We will be left holding expensive nuclear power in our hands.

For all the bravura of the Government, no one is going to spend $12 billion for a single unit for the type of scale they intend to achieve. As a comparison, the farmer loan waiver was $15 billion. This is also the total amount of individual income tax collected in the most recent fiscal year.