India To Use Untested Nuclear Technology
India is to move towards nuclear power in a bid to cut carbon emissions, reports guardian.co.uk. The Indian prime minister indicated that they would move towards nuclear power over the next few decades although they will be using untested technology. The untested technology will be based on nuclear waste and thorium.
It was announced that Indian nuclear power stations could produce 470,000 MW by 2050. This is 100 times the output they get from their 17 reactors at the moment.
At the moment India has a major energy shortage with over 400m people unable to light their homes. In addition India imports 70% of its oil. The Indian government says that the new nuclear reactors will produce green energy and the programme will turn the problematic nuclear waste back into fuel. They plan to use thorium combined with plutonium to create a stock of uranium. However, the technology has not been developed successfully by any other country but India says it has over 2,000 scientists working on technical problems.
Many campaigners however, say that nuclear is not the answer to climate change and others have questioned the use of untested technology by India.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/29/nuclear-power-thorium-india