Consideration on setting up a nuclear power station in Kerala, demand is Thorium reserves can be used
Kerala: Officials of the state's energy department said that the Kerala government has not demanded a nuclear power station, but has appealed to the central government to use the state's thorium reserves.
Kerela is beginning to set up a nuclear power station. Kerala Energy Minister K Krishnankutty met Union Energy Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Thiruvananthapuram. After this meeting, there is a discussion that the central government can consider setting up a nuclear power station in the state. However, for this, the state government will have to provide land.
The Kerala Energy Minister submitted a memorandum to the Union Energy Minister, in which he appealed to generate electricity using the thorium reserves in the state so that Kerala can get electricity. Officials of the state's energy department said that the Kerala government has not demanded a nuclear power station, but has appealed to the central government to use the state's thorium reserves. The power crisis in Kerala is deepening and the state government is dependent on its hydroelectric projects and electricity purchased from neighboring states for electricity.
However, the consumption of Electricity in the state is increasing and hence the state government has started looking for an alternate source of electricity. Anyways many studies will be conducted for the approval of nuclear power stations in Kerala. After all those studies, then it will be decided whether a Nuclear power station will be built in Kerala or not. In 2030, the requirement for electricity in Kerala can be increased up to 10 thousand megawatts. The State government of Kerala has also appealed for the central pool to provide more quantum of electricity to the State and help in improving the energy structure of the state. The energy infrastructures of Kerala are actually capable of handling only 4260 megawatts supply.
During a meeting with the Union Minister, the Energy Minister of Kerala demanded that the state be given 400 megawatts of electricity from Talcher Power Plant instead of 180 megawatts. Kerala also demanded that the high voltage distribution system of Power Grid Corporation be declared a national asset and its expenses be recovered from all the states. Presently, its expenses are being recovered only from the southern states. The Kerala government also demanded a plan for the undergrounding of power cables in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kozhikode.
