Andhra Pradesh is gearing up to sustain its ever growing power requirements through nuclear power. Chief Minister K Rosaiah, on Thursday, said that Andhra Pradesh must strongly think of going for tapping nuclear power, to meet not just present requirements but also those 25-100 yrs later.
AP has been hit with its
worst ever power crisis this year. The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, with a potential to generate 250MW of power, has been operating at less than 200MW. Various distribution companies (discoms) are also fund-starved, unable to make any purchases this year.
Right now, the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO) generates 7048.9MW of power, of which 3382.50MW is from thermal (steam driven) sources, 3664.4MW from hydro-based sources (driven from moving water) and 2MW from wind power stations. The state uses gas, coal and water to sustain most of its power consumption.
Director-President of Enoto Group at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) V Venugopal said that Uranium deposits available in Andhra Pradesh would play a vital role in the generation of nuclear power. He said that the generation of nuclear power is the most viable option to tide over the acute power shortages in the country.