India home to Asia's largest Solar-Thermal Power Plant

[acetophenol]

Yeah I know by 2050 we'll get 30% of electricity from thoriumPPs but hey the year will be 2050

Well to the NPP supporters here...I have maintained that I am not against thorium reactors.Afterall they are relatively "clean".
Thorium reactors do create waste....but they use stockpiled waste as a starter, their waste is “tenths of a percent of the comparable volume from a conventional reactor,” and its half-life is “a few hundred years { ONLY }as opposed to tens of thousands of years.
But heres the best news about it.. deriving U-233 is “virtually impossible, even for a sophisticated nuclear power lab, much less for a rogue nation, or terrorist group.”Now thats good news.
But let me tell you what Dr. Alvin Weinberg the “guru” of thorium nuclear technology called it ....he said this is a “Faustian bargain” and said it is "a great energy source, but you gotta worry about proliferation and waste".
And lets not forget thorium based nuclear power is still a HYPOTHESIS.
Renewable resources are the way forward.Just that our species doesnt know how to utilize it.

Renewable resources are indeed the way forward,but as you said our species doesn't know how to utilize it.We are yet to effectlively tap solar power effectively that majority of the energy in solar radiation is left untouched,So what shall we do?Can we just sit idle,till some one comes up with awesome plan that will guarantee unhindered power supply round the clock,round the year utilizing minimum space?Had we had effective way of utilizing renewable sources to satisfy our needs,then I would've happily stood with you against nuclear or any other sources of energy,but unfortunately we don't.

Right now,we have a set of renewable sources (solar,wind,geothermal etc),which has severe limitations interms of availability and technology.And we have non-renewable sources (fossil fuels),about which I'd rather not talk about.Nuclear energy is therefore the best option that we have.

About the nuclear waste,the waste produced by urnaium in an nuclear powerplant is negligibly small when compared to that produced by a coal powered powerplant of the same capacity.And the good part is that,the nuclear waste is very small enough to be easily contained.Even if the all the electricity use of the USA was distributed evenly among its population, and all of it came from nuclear power, then the amount of nuclear waste each person would generate per year would be 39.5 grams.

And about thorium based reactors,inshallah we are moving miles ahead in that area,PFBR being a great step forward,we'll achieve it hopefully.

You can cheer for non-renewable sources,I'll cheer with you,but don't blame nuclear energy,especially when its the best option available.

i think here is some technical terminology issue, bcoz we r already building 4,000MW Solar Plant in Rajasthan n many more of similar capacity r proposed.

BHEL, 5 PSUs to set up 4,000 MW solar plant in Rajasthan - The Hindu

i think its like single unit of 125 MW or something which makes it, the largest single unit project or something.

Bro,I think there's a difference b/w "Solar Powerplant" and "Solar-Thermal powerplant" .
Solar powerplants directly convert solar radiation into electricity using photovoltaic cells,whereas solar thermal power plants uses concentrated solar power,which powers a heat engine,that runs a generator.

Please tell if I am wrong!

 

[Levina]

About the nuclear waste,the waste produced by urnaium in an nuclear powerplant is negligibly small when compared to that produced by a coal powered powerplant of the same capacity.And the good part is that,the nuclear waste is very small enough to be easily contained.Even if the all the electricity use of the USA was distributed evenly among its population, and all of it came from nuclear power, then the amount of nuclear waste each person would generate per year would be 39.5 grams.

And do you want to see how the GRAMS of nuclear waste is handled????

And FYI the GRAMS of nuclear is dangerously radioactive and remains so for thousands of years. When it first comes out of the reactor it is so toxic that if you stood within a few meters of it while it was unshielded, you would receive a lethal radioactive dose within a few seconds and would die of acute radiation sickness within a few days.

Now about NPPs so far......the grand hopes for nuclear power in India must be evaluated in the light of the history of the numerous pronouncements of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) about the dominant role for atomic energy it envisioned and failed to deliver.
Somewhere in early 1970 for example it projected 43,500 MW of nuclear generating capacity by 2000 whereas what materialised was a mere 2,720 MW (OOPS!)
In the year 2010 the nuclear contribution to electricity generated in the country was mere 2.8 per cent. What little energy has been generated has been expensive. When viewed in the light of the ample financial and political support from successive governments, the nuclear programme has been a failure.
Now about the thorium reactors...well I assume by now you do know that thorium itself cannot be used as reactor fuel but must be put through a nuclear reactor to first produce a fissile isotope of uranium aka uranium-233.
Now the uranium-233 is produced in conjunction with uranium-232 which emits energetic gamma rays and this is the main reason it has not been used to make weapons. This property is even more problematic when uranium-233 is used as nuclear fuel because it makes fuel fabrication hazardous to the health of workers(who cares??? ) and expensive.
Ergo the very properties that make thorium unsuitable for weaponisation pose a greater hurdle to energy generation.
Btw if you didnt know DAE's plans for producing uranium-233 in bulk involve the use of plutonium-fuelled fast breeder reactors which when compared to heavy water reactors carry a significantly greater risk of catastrophic accidents and produce much more expensive electricity. For some or all of these reasons, most countries have abandoned thorium...... India is a leader in this field by virtue of being one of the only participants


Off topic:
How are you allowed to post more than 10 smileys in a single post???

 

[acetophenol]

And do you want to see how the GRAMS of nuclear waste is handled????

View attachment 17005



And FYI the GRAMS of nuclear is dangerously radioactive and remains so for thousands of years. When it first comes out of the reactor it is so toxic that if you stood within a few meters of it while it was unshielded, you would receive a lethal radioactive dose within a few seconds and would die of acute radiation sickness within a few days.

Now about NPPs so far......the grand hopes for nuclear power in India must be evaluated in the light of the history of the numerous pronouncements of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) about the dominant role for atomic energy it envisioned and failed to deliver.
Somewhere in early 1970 for example it projected 43,500 MW of nuclear generating capacity by 2000 whereas what materialised was a mere 2,720 MW (OOPS!)
In the year 2010 the nuclear contribution to electricity generated in the country was mere 2.8 per cent. What little energy has been generated has been expensive. When viewed in the light of the ample financial and political support from successive governments, the nuclear programme has been a failure.
Now about the thorium reactors...well I assume by now you do know that thorium itself cannot be used as reactor fuel but must be put through a nuclear reactor to first produce a fissile isotope of uranium aka uranium-233.
Now the uranium-233 is produced in conjunction with uranium-232 which emits energetic gamma rays and this is the main reason it has not been used to make weapons. This property is even more problematic when uranium-233 is used as nuclear fuel because it makes fuel fabrication hazardous to the health of workers(who cares??? ) and expensive.
Ergo the very properties that make thorium unsuitable for weaponisation pose a greater hurdle to energy generation.
Btw if you didnt know DAE's plans for producing uranium-233 in bulk involve the use of plutonium-fuelled fast breeder reactors which when compared to heavy water reactors carry a significantly greater risk of catastrophic accidents and produce much more expensive electricity. For some or all of these reasons, most countries have abandoned thorium...... India is a leader in this field by virtue of being one of the only participants


Off topic:
How are you allowed to post more than 10 smileys in a single post???

I am well aware of the hazards posed by nuclear waste. My point is that the amount of nuclear waste generated is low compared to most other forms of conventional energy and therefore it can be safely stored. India and the world has been lacking the know how & money,which we are gradually getting. Damn,I wish I had my laptop
off topic:please watch your tone,smilies are fine,but rofling and loling isn't that cool. And I can post as many smilies as I wish.

 

[Levina]

I am well aware of the hazards posed by nuclear waste. My point is that the amount of nuclear waste generated is low compared to most other forms of conventional energy and therefore it can be safely stored.
India and the world has been lacking the know how & money,which we are gradually getting. Damn,I wish I had my laptop

Thats exactly what I told you about the waste...that no matter how little it is , it can contaminate a hell lot of things and hence the need to store it extremely carefully....and lets not forget that even the half life of these wastes will be in hundreds or thousands of years.

off topic:please watch your tone,smilies are fine,but rofling and loling isn't that cool. And I can post as many smilies as I wish.

Smilies???
Did you mean the smileys??
Well let me tell you all the smileys that I used are from the emoticon bar provided by the admin.So I am so sure I have not crossed any line.
And I am no troll who uses a smiley for sarcasm.I would rather debate a subject than troll on a thread.
I genuinely thought that guy looked funny with his head gear and safety clothes.Where's the problem???

 

[acetophenol]

Thats exactly what I told you about the waste...that no matter how little it is , it can contaminate a hell lot of things and hence the need to store it extremely carefully....and lets not forget that even the half life of these wastes will be in hundreds or thousands of years.


Smilies???
Did you mean the smileys??
Well let me tell you all the smileys that I used are from the emoticon bar provided by the admin.So I am so sure I have not crossed any line.
And I am no troll who uses a smiley for sarcasm.I would rather debate a subject than troll on a thread.
I genuinely thought that guy looked funny with his head gear and safety clothes.Where's the problem???

Compared to the amount of power it can produce,with what less space,money and time,storing the waste is a risk worth it.Renewable energy sources aren't feasible everywhere,whereas nuclear energy is.But,without doubt,renewable sources must be followed wherever possible.Nuclear power is more eco friendly than any other conventional sources of energy.About the nuclear wastes,if we can store nuclear weapons,storing nuclear waste isn't a problem.

And levina-ji,
I found your tone provocatively flamingy proble from the first post itself,maybe that was my problem,for which I apologize.
Peace.

 

[Levina]

Compared to the amount of power it can produce,with what less space,money and time,storing the waste is a risk worth it.Renewable energy sources aren't feasible everywhere,whereas nuclear energy is.But,without doubt,renewable sources must be followed wherever possible.Nuclear power is more eco friendly than any other conventional sources of energy.About the nuclear wastes,if we can store nuclear weapons,storing nuclear waste isn't a problem.

I am giving you the link where i have discussed this in detail
India designs World's first Thorium based Nuclear Reactor | Page 3
post#36

And levina-ji,
I found your tone provocatively flamingy proble from the first post itself,maybe that was my problem,for which I apologize.
Peace.

peace!!!

 

[Bhai Zakir]

Thank you congress

Soon India will have world's largest solar power plant built ever

India to build world's largest solar plant : Nature News & Comment