3 ms·

In India, nuclear power is part of the country's energy policy. A decade or two after independence, India was one of the few countries that focused on nuclear e

In India, nuclear power is part of the country's energy policy. A decade or two after independence, India was one of the few countries that focused on nuclear energy with the support of the US, and went on to build nuclear power plants. In fact, after the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement in 2005, and the subsequent NSG waiver to India in 2008, India also signed deals with many countries to build new, safeguarded nuclear power plants. Currently India has 22 nuclear reactors in 7 nuclear power plants - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_India I guess the reason it is not popular is because once you master the technology to build a nuclear reactor, you are one more step closer to build a nuclear bomb. And the powers be do not want any more country to have nuclear bombs. And you are absolutely right - the weak point in home solar power generation is the battery. They are a huge recurring expense.

vsskanth 5y ago
I believe India recieved a lot of technology from Russia for it's nuclear plants. Agreements with US were mostly about "allowing" them to import nuclear fuel and not be subjected to sanctions, which India was subjected to after they tested nuclear bombs (in a race with Pakistan). Of late there has been a lot of local resistance to build nuclear plants and there's been accusations of protest organizers being US funded to prevent more contracts going out to Russia. Also heard similar accusations for why thorium reactors aren't being developed properly even through India has massive reserves - foreign interference. So yeah, the main reason nuclear isn't all that attractive is that it invites a lot of interference from powerful countries with interests in controlling the technology and fuel - military dominance is threatened. Solar, wind power and battery technology do not face these issues. You can see similar dynamics play out in aviation, especially jet engine tech.
- webmobdev 5y ago
  Russia did help India a lot in developing its nuclear capabilities - both for peaceful purposes and for its military. From what I remember reading on the subject, the US actively helped us in the beginning, in the 60's, and even gave us some nuclear reactors. However, after we used and processed the Uranium from it for our nuclear weapons program, they were pissed and were in the forefront in imposing sanctions on us. They blocked access to a lot of science and tech to hamper our nuclear program, for decades. That is when the Russians increased collaboration on nuclear tech with us. They went even further than the US and even helped us develop nuclear tech for the military - for example, by leasing us a nuclear submarine to our navy (which helped us to build our own nuclear submarines). So yes, Russia has definitely contributed more to India than the US. (And they have done so in a lot of other fields too - India does owe a lot to Russia).

vsskanth 5y ago

I believe India recieved a lot of technology from Russia for it's nuclear plants. Agreements with US were mostly about "allowing" them to import nuclear fuel and not be subjected to sanctions, which India was subjected to after they tested nuclear bombs (in a race with Pakistan). Of late there has been a lot of local resistance to build nuclear plants and there's been accusations of protest organizers being US funded to prevent more contracts going out to Russia. Also heard similar accusations for why thorium reactors aren't being developed properly even through India has massive reserves - foreign interference. So yeah, the main reason nuclear isn't all that attractive is that it invites a lot of interference from powerful countries with interests in controlling the technology and fuel - military dominance is threatened. Solar, wind power and battery technology do not face these issues. You can see similar dynamics play out in aviation, especially jet engine tech.

webmobdev 5y ago
Russia did help India a lot in developing its nuclear capabilities - both for peaceful purposes and for its military. From what I remember reading on the subject, the US actively helped us in the beginning, in the 60's, and even gave us some nuclear reactors. However, after we used and processed the Uranium from it for our nuclear weapons program, they were pissed and were in the forefront in imposing sanctions on us. They blocked access to a lot of science and tech to hamper our nuclear program, for decades. That is when the Russians increased collaboration on nuclear tech with us. They went even further than the US and even helped us develop nuclear tech for the military - for example, by leasing us a nuclear submarine to our navy (which helped us to build our own nuclear submarines). So yes, Russia has definitely contributed more to India than the US. (And they have done so in a lot of other fields too - India does owe a lot to Russia).