THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The power utility in Left-governed
Kerala has sought the Centre’s permission to set up a thorium-based power nuclear plant in the state. Thorium is a radioactive metal and Kerala’s coasts are estimated to have two lakh tonnes of such deposits.
A proposal submitted to Union power minister RK Singh says abundant thorium offers the possibility of generating power at lower costs.
Government sources claimed, however, that the proposal was a suggestion by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the government had not discussed it yet.
The argument, though, is that the state desperately needs to explore alternative energy sources to bring down power shortfalls.One option being weighed is to make land at an NTPC unit near the Chavara coast at Kayamkulam in Kollam available for the proposed power plant.
“It is understood that reduced risk of nuclear proliferation and nuclear waste management and enhanced safety features make thorium-based power generation a promising future option for nuclear energy. Substantial quantity of quality thorium is available in the coastal belt of Kerala,” the proposal states.
In this quest, the proposal also points out that the state was inspired by the establishment of the 32-MW Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on the Kalpakkam coast in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. “With the support of the Centre, using this thorium, green power content within the state can be substantially increased, that too at reasonable rates,” the proposal states.
The bulk of the thorium deposits in Kerala are in the black sands of Chavara. The NTPC plant there has 1,180 acres but the 385MW unit is currently not generating electricity. KSEB’s idea is to use this land to set up small thorium nuclear plants. Like the plant at Kalpakkam, the plan is to set up 30 to 50 MW smaller power plants to reduce radiation risks.