www.ijnese.

orgInternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015
doi:10.14355/ijnese.2015.05.004

ProspectsofNuclearEnergyforSustainable
EnergyDevelopmentinBangladesh
A.S.Mollah*1,SabihaSattar#,M.A.Hossain*,A.Z.M.Salahuddin*andH.ARRashid*
*

DepartmentofNuclearScienceandEngineering,MilitaryInstituteScienceandTechnology,MirpurCantonment,

Mirpur,Dhaka1216,Bangladesh
#

AtomicEnergyCenter,BangladeshAtomicEnergyCommission,Ramna,Dhaka1000,Bangladesh
EmailAddress:mollahas@gmail.com

Abstract
CrisisofpowerisoneofthemajorproblemsinBangladesh.Atpresent,electricityproductioninBangladeshismostlybasedon
theexistingreserveofconventionalenergysourcesasfossilfuellikegas,coal,oiletc.whichisnotsufficienttomeetthepresent
and near future power demand. A comparative study between power generation form different energy sources and world
energyconsumptionindicatesthatpowergenerationfromnuclearenergywillfacilitatetooptimizeenergymixanddiversify
countrysenergysourcetogetoutofthechronicpowershortageproblem,sustainingthepowerdevelopmentinBangladesh.
Considering the global trends to nuclear power, electricity generation from nuclear power plant could be the best option for
Bangladeshtocopupwiththegrowingdemandandovercomeenergyandpowercrisis.
Keywords
PowerCrisis,PowerSector,SustainableEnergy,NuclearEnergy,NuclearPowerPlant

Introduction
Electricityisthekeysourceofpowerforsocioeconomicdevelopmentofanycountry.Resourcesoffossilfuelsare
plentiful,whicheventuallywilllimittheuseofthesefuels.Oftenpercapitaconsumptionofelectricityandenergy
is considered as one of the development indications of a country. In the Reference Scenario, global electricity
generation(byfueltype)isshowninFig.1.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1990
Coal

NaturalGas

2012
Oil

2020
Nuclear

Hydro

2040
Renewable

FIG.1.WORLDELECTRICITYGENERATION,19902040(SOURCE:IEA).

The per capita energy consumption in Bangladesh is one of the lowest (321 kWh) in the world. In Bangladesh,
commercial energy consumption is mostly natural gas (around 62%), followed by oil, coal and hydropower.
AccordingtoBangladeshPowerDevelopmentBoard(BPDB),intheyear2014againstapeakelectricitydemandof
8349MW,themaximumproductionofelectricitywasonly6675MW[1].Bangladeshsinstalledelectricgeneration
capacitywas11683.00inAugust2015[1,2].Only62%ofthepopulationhasaccesstoelectricitywithapercapita
availabilityof321kWhperannum.Nowadays,thesustainabledevelopmentisone,whichdoesnothavediverse
effectsontheenvironmentandnaturalresources.However,allformsofelectricitygenerationareunavoidablefor

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a sustained economic development. Generation of electricity from fossil fuels is costly and more significantly
polluting the environment. Moreover, power generation from renewable energy will not be enough to fulfil the
huge shortage of power. It is very essential for Bangladesh to give top priority on large scale power generation
from other sources. Fossil fuels like petroleum and coal have been blamed as being responsible for greenhouse
gaseswhilenuclearpowergenerationisgenerallyregardedascleaninthatstandard[3].Nuclearpowercanmake
amajorcontributionformeetingenergyneedsandsustainingtheworldsdevelopmentinthe21stcentury,fora
large number of developed and developing countries. According to IAEA, Nuclear power was projected to
increase to 17% share of the worlds electricity production by 2020. As of July 2015, 30 countries worldwide are
operating 438 nuclear reactors for electricity generation and 67 new nuclear plants are under construction in 15
countries.Itisprojectedtoraisethenumberofnuclearpowerreactorsto200to400duringthenextquartercentury
[4].Theprojectionofworldnetelectricitygenerationfromnuclearpower,byregion,20062030[5]isshowninFig.
2.

TrillionKilowatthours

1.25
1
0.75
0.5
0.25
0
2006
UnitedStates
Japan

2010
OECDEurope
Russia

2020

2030
China
India

FIG.2.WORLDNETELECTRICITYGENERATIONFROMNUCLEARPOWER,BYREGION,20062030.

Bangladeshgovernmentisnowplanningforgenerationofelectricityfromnuclearpowerplantandrecentlythey
have taken a project called Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project (RNPP). This paper presents the feasible
contributivelyshareofelectricitygenerationfromeachenergyresources.Thisincludestheeconomicalfeasibilities
andalldemographicprojectionsinvolvedinforecastingmethodology,whichexplicitlyreflectonoverallnational
powerdemandprojectionintheenergyprospectsofBangladeshtill2030.Theenergydemandandreliabilityare
presented with a view to elaborate on significant role and required capacity of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP)
towardsfulfilment of an energy mix policyin the country. To keep pace with the increasing demand, itneedsa
source that can produce much more electricity than the present production. Such a breakthrough in electricity
production can only be achieved through the introduction of nuclear energy in power generation system of
Bangladesh.Nuclearenergyisproducedbyfissionreactionoffissionablefuelinanuclearreactor.Theamountof
energy produced from nuclear reaction is gigantic compared with the energy produced from other primary
resources.Ontheotherhand,anuclearpowerplantproducesverylittleamountofgreenhousegases,soitismuch
safer[3,4].
Electricity Scenario in Bangladesh
PrimaryEnergyResources
Bangladeshhasveryfewnaturalresourceswhicharebeingusedtoproduceelectricity,suchascoal,naturalgas,
furnaceoil,dieselandhydro.Theshareofpowerplantsinnominalcapacityandelectricitygenerationisshownin
Fig.3.FromtheFig.3,itisclearthatmostofpowerplantsinBangladeshisusingnaturalgasasfuelabout61.97%
ofthetotalcapacity.Otherpowerstationsarebasedon21.46%furnaceoil,8.18%diesel,1.97%hydroand2.14%
coal.

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www.ijnese.orgInternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015

FIG.3.INSTALLEDCAPACITYASONAUGUST2015(BYFUELTYPE)
TOTALINSTALLEDCAPACITY:11683MW(SOURCE:BPDBWEBSITE)

CoalisharnessedfromcoalminessituatedinthenorthernportionofBangladeshandthereareseveralgasfields
lying all around the country. But it is not possible to harness enough coal from the mines because of negative
effectsofitonnatureandgasfieldshavelimitedbalanceofgasleftinthem.Bangladeshhastoimportfurnaceoil
anddieselfromabroad.AccordingtoBangladeshPowerDevelopmentBoard(BPDB),thetotalinstalledcapacityas
onAugust2015isabout11,683MW[2].ThenetproductioncapacityofElectricPowerPlantsofthiscountryhas
reached10445MWintheyear2015inAugust.Itiswellknownthatthereisadirectrelationbetweenelectricity
consumption and economic growth. Therefore, electricity sector has to be developed to sustain this growth [4].
More electricity generation in thermal power plants will increase fossil fuel consumption, which subsequently
resultsinanincreaseinemissions.
ProblemswithPresentElectricityScenarios
Tomakeaproperpowergenerationmasterplan,itisrequiredtomakeaproperspeculationofthespeedatwhich
the demand is increasing. According to the Power System Master Plan (PSMP) 2010, demand forecast made by
Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh is based on 7% GDP growth rate (Fig. 4). Based upon this
studythepeakdemandwouldbeabout17,304MWinFY2020and25,199MWin2025.Theelectricitydevelopment
isrequiredtobeacceleratedtoincreaseaccessandattaineconomicdevelopment.Therefore,Bangladeshisinthe
immediateneedofmanifoldincreaseofexistingelectricitygenerationcapacity.
60000

40000

Governme
ntPolicy
Comparisio
n7%
Comparisio
n6%

20000

2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030

SOURCE:PSMPSTUDYTEAM.
FIG.4.POWERDEMANDFORECAST20102030INBANGLADESH.

Bangladeshhastoimportfurnaceoilanddieselfromabroad.AtthecurrentrateofnaturaluseinBangladesh,the
currentestimatedprovenreserveswouldlast45years.Evenifthepresentrateofuseincreasedat10%peryear,
thesereserveswouldlastabout17years(source:Wikipedia).Powersectorranksthehighest(44%);fertilizersector
ranks the second (28%); and industry, domestic, commercial and other sectors together rank third (22%) in gas
consumption.ThisspeculationismadeonthebasisofafixedGDP.SoanincreasingGDPwilldefinitelyincrease
thedemandmuchmore.Tofulfilsuchagreatdemandofelectricityinthefuture,presentproductionneedstobe

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InternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015www.ijnese.org

incrementedgreatlywhichcanonlybedonewithnuclearpowerplants.Thereisahugegapbetweensupplyand
demand which is increasing day by day. Since maximum power plants are gas based and proven gas reserve is
reducingandnonewgasreservehasbeendiscoveredyet.Thishugegapcannotbemetbyrenewableenergy.In
thatcase,nuclearpowermaybethealternativeoptionforgeneratingelectricity.Nuclearpowercouldbeareality
tobridgebetweenthehugegapsbetweensupplyanddemand.Inthemodernworld,nuclearpowerhasalready
been proved as cheap, reliable and safe. Government of Bangladesh has made vision and policy statement
regarding power sector improvement. For that purpose, Govt. issued its vision and policy Statement on power
sectorreformswiththefollowingobjectives:
1.Bringingtheentirecountryunderelectricityservicebytheyear2025inphases.
2.Makingthepowersectorfinanciallyviableandabletofacilitateeconomicgrowth.
3.Introducingnewcorporatecultureinthepowersectorentitiesandincreasingthesectorsefficiency.
4.Improvingthereliabilityandqualityofelectricitysupply.
5.Ensuringreasonableandaffordablepriceforelectricitybypursuingleastcostoptions.
Impact on Environment
ConventionalEnergySources
Thesedaysoneofthebiggestconcernsoftheworldisthegreenhousegasemission.Theburningoffossilfuelemits
harmful gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, sulphur trioxide, etc. in the atmosphere
altogetherknownasthegreenhousegases.Thesegasesraisethetemperatureoftheatmospheretrappingtheheat
radiatedfromtheearthmakingtheworldavulnerableplacetolivein.Thesourcesofemissionfreeelectricityare
showninFig.5.Theaveragegreenhousegasemissionfromcoalbasedelectricityproductionisabout1100grams
ofCO2 perkWhandfromnuclearpowerplant;itisabout15gramsofCO2 perkWh.Sonuclearpowerplantsare
much healthier for the earth. However, fossil hasstill variousirreplaceable roles andusesin society. Thus, most
countries have a mix energy policy covering nonrenewable, new, and renewable energy sources with different
composition depending on their unique situations relating to various factors, e.g. population and economic
growths, lifestyle, countrys potency on domestic energy sources, etc. to secure the sustainable energy supply.
Introducing solar, wind and other new energy sources is also an extremely efficient means of reducing CO2
emissions. At present, however, these new energy sources still have issues of supply stability (energy cannot be
generatedonrainydaysorwhenthewinddoesnotblow),economicfeasibility,etc.Underthepresentconditions,
thepoweroutputofsystemsusingnaturalenergysuchassolarpowergenerationandwindpowergenerationis
pronetofluctuation,sobackuppowersourcesareessential.
19.90%

17.10%
62.90%

Nuclear

Solar,WindandGeometrical

Hydro

FIG.5.SOURCESOFEMISSIONFREEELECTRICITYIN2014.
SOURCE:HTTP://WWW.NEI.ORG/CORPORATESITE/MEDIA/IMAGES/INFOGRAPHICS/SOURCESOFEMISSIONFREE2014
01.PNG?WIDTH=1500&HEIGHT=1125&EXT=.PNG

TheAlternateEnergySource
With such a sharp increase of demand and a decrease in the reserves of primary resources for electricity
production, the perfect alternative is the introduction of nuclear based power production. Nucleus, one of the
fundamental particles inside an atom releases energy when some special atoms are combined together to form

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largeatomorsomespeciallargeatomsaresplittoformsmallerones.Innuclearfission,atomsaresplitapartto
form smaller atoms, releasing energy. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission reaction to produce electricity.
Usually in commercial production of nuclear energy, special isotopes of Uranium and Plutonium are used. The
generalreactionisfiguredoutbelow
U+neutronfissionfissionfragments+2.4neutrons+192.9MeV

235

Pu+neutronfissionfissionfragments+2.9neutrons+198.5MeV

239

This massive energy is not produced in open places like the burning of fuels. This production needs an isolated
andcontrolledenvironment.
AdvantagesofNuclearEnergyBasedElectricityProduction
Bangladeshneedsastableandpowerfulsourcewhichwillbeabletosupplyenergycontinuouslyforaverylong
periodoftime.NuclearEnergycanbethebestsolutiontothisproblem.Primarysourcesofenergycantprovide
thatmuchofenergyasNuclearEnergy.Alsothelifespanofatypicalnuclearpowerplantismuchhigherthanany
otherplant.Uraniumisalsoabundant,andtechnologiesexistwhichcanextenditsuse60foldifdemandrequires
it.Worldmineproductionisabout60,000tonnesperyear,butalotofthemarketisbeingsuppliedfromsecondary
sources such as stockpiles, including material from dismantled nuclear weapons. Practically all of it is used for
electricity.Forcomparison,thetypicalheatvalueofvariousfuelsisgiveninTable1.
TABLE1.TYPICALHEATVALUESOFVARIOUSFUELS

Firewood(dry)

1618MJ/kg

Browncoal(lignite)

10MJ/kg

Blackcoal(lowquality)

1323MJ/kg

Blackcoal(hard)

2430MJ/kg

NaturalGas

38MJ/m3

CrudeOil

4546MJ/kg

Uraniumintypicalreactor

500,000MJ/kg(ofnaturalU)

(MJ=Megajoules)
Source:http://www.worldnuclear.org/info/NuclearFuelCycle/Introduction/EnergyfortheWorldWhyUranium/

It is seen that the source of nuclear energy natural uranium can provide about 10000 times more energy than
crudeoilthesecondhighestheatvalueprovider.Thedifferenceintheheatvalueofuraniumcomparedwithcoal
andotherfuelsisimportantsinceitdirectlyaffectstheamountofwastesthateachfuelproduces.Forinstance,a
single1000MWcoalfiredplantproducesover300,000tonsofash,44,000tonsofsulphurdioxides,22,000tonsof
NitrousOxideand6milliontonsofcarbon.Incontrast,a1000MWofnuclearpowerplantproducesamere3cubic
metersofwastesafterreprocessingthespentfuel,300tonsofradioactivewastesand0.20tonsofplutonium.There
are also different transport requirements for both nuclear fuel and fossil fuels in the context of Bangladesh.
Transportation costs are higher for coal and oil systems at 20000 train cars or 10 super tankers, in relation to a
nuclearplantatjust34trucks.
NuclearEnergyinBangladesh
In1963,theRooppursitewasselectedfortheestablishmentofthefirstnuclearpowerplantofthiscountry.In2001,
BangladeshadoptedanationalNuclearPowerActionPlan.On24June2007,GovernmentofPeoplesRepublicof
Bangladesh announced planned to build a nuclear power plant to meet electricity shortages. In May 2010,
Bangladesh signed a civilian nuclear agreement with the Russian Government. Bangladesh also had framework
agreementsforpeacefulnuclearenergyapplicationswiththeUS,FranceandChina.InFebruary2011,Bangladesh
reachedanagreementwithRussiatobuildthe2,400megawatt(MW)NuclearPowerPlantwithtworeactors,each
ofwhichwillgenerate1,200MWofpower.ThenuclearpowerplantwillbebuiltatRooppur,onthebanksofthe
PadmaRiver,intheIshwardisubdistrictofPabna,inthenorthwestofthecountry.TheRNPP(RooppurNuclear
Power Plant) is estimated to cost up to US$14 billion (for 2 units of each 1200 MWe), and start operating by
2024/2025. The intergovernmental agreement (IGA) was officially signed on 2 November 2011. The Bangladesh

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Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) is responsible for implementation of RNPP project. For the development of
nuclearsector,BAECcreatednecessaryinfrastructuretoconductthefollowingmajoractivities:
o

Obligations under nuclear power plant and non proliferation including establishment of state system of
accountingandcontrol.

Implementationandenforcementofsafeguardslegislationsandrelevantsafeguardsprocedures.

Physicalsecurityofnuclearmaterialsandperformingallregulatoryactivities.

Though many issues relating to cost, financing and safety are yet to be resolved but Govt. is trying to solve all
obligationsregardingnuclearpower.Forthispurpose,itisrequiredthat:
o

BAEC should develop basic technological infrastructure and manpower to set up Nuclear Power Plant
(NPP).

Manpowerforoperationandmaintenanceofthenuclearpowerplantmaybetrainedincooperationwith
theplantsuppliersandateamondesignaspectscouldbeplannedaspartofoverallcontractwiththemain
supplier.

Fresh professionals should be appointed for RNPP which will be available to general Universities,
UniversitiesofEngineeringandTechnologyandTechnicalInstitutesduringimplementationphase.

HumanResourceDevelopment
BAEChastrainedupagoodnumberofprofessionalsinvariousbranchesofnucleartechnologytobeinvolvedin
different implementation of phases of RNPP. Present manpower for Rooppur NPP Project is about 55 with 28
professionals
o

ProjectPlanning&ContractNegations:7

SittingandDevelopment:9

NuclearTechnology:7

InternationalCoordination&HRD:5

AnewdepartmentNuclearScienceandEngineeringhasopenedforundergraduateandpostgraduatestudents
under the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). Nuclear Science and Engineering Department
startedthefirstacademicsessionon5thFebruary2015forB.Sc.Engineering(40students)ascommitmentofMIST
todevelopskilledmanpowerforthefirstnuclearpowerprojectofBangladesh.ThisDepartmentalsostartedthe
first academic session on 18th October 2015 for M.Sc. Engg./M. Engg, (26 students) and Ph.D.(3 students)
programmetomeetchallengesofhealthyandprosperoushumanresourcesforBangladeshinthefieldofnuclear
scienceandengineering.
EnergySecurity
Dependenceonenergyimportscarriesalargeriskofdisruptedpowersupplies.Nuclearfuelmayalsohavetobe
importedandtransported.However,becauseofthehighenergydensityofnuclearfuel,itispossibleforcountries
to stockpile sufficient imported uranium to operate their nuclear supply systems for many years on the once
throughfuelcycleandthusweatheranyrealisticsupplyinterruption.Otherenergyresources,suchascoal,could
also be stockpiled, but uranium has significant advantages: the cost is low (about one tenth that of coal for
equivalent energy); storage is easy (more than four orders of magnitude less mass than the mass of coal for
equivalentenergy);anduranium,unlikecoal,willnotdegradeinstorage.
GlobalClimateChange
In 1990, a major environmental concern mergedthe potential for climate change due to rising greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions that trap heat from the sun. That same year, the United Nations Framework Convention for
ClimateChangewasconvenedandsignedinRiodeJaneiro.

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TonnesCO2equivalent
GWe/GWeh

www.ijnese.orgInternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

FIG.6.LIFECYCLEEMISSIONSFORVARIOUSELECTRICITYGENERATIONTECHNOLOGIES.
SOURCE:HTTP://WWW.ZDNET.COM/ARTICLE/NUCLEARLESSCO2THANSOLARHYDROBIOMASS/

To implement the convention, the Kyoto Protocol was then negotiated, signed, and ratified by many countries.
AlthoughtheUnitedStatesuntilrecently,theworldslargestemitterofgreenhousegases(supersededbyChinain
2008)withdrewitssignaturein2001,theprotocolwaseventuallyratifiedbytherequirednumberofcountriesand
went into effect in 2005. Like renewable energy sources (hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal), nuclear
power is a lowGHG emitting technology. Indeed, GHG emissions from nuclear and renewable technologies are
betweenoneandtwoordersofmagnitudebelowcorrespondingemissionsfromfossilfuelenergychains.Inalife
cycleanalysis(Fig.6),nuclearpowerisamongthelowestofallformsofelectricitygenerationinCO2emissions.It
illustrateshowmanytonnesofCO2areemittedpergigawatthourofelectricitygeneratedbydifferentgenerating
technologies.Thefigure6isalifecycleanalysisthattakesintoaccountofCO2emittednotonlyduringelectricity
generation,butalsobythemining,manufacturing,constructionandotherprocessesitistakentogetapowerplant
upandkeepitrunning.
ReducingAirPollution
Nuclear power has significant environmental benefits compared with fossil fuel generation. Under normal
operations,nuclearpowerplantsproducealmostnoairbornepollutants.Smallquantitiesofradioactivegasesare
regularly emitted under controlled conditions imposed and supervised by regulatory authorities and pose no
significantthreattoplantworkersorsurroundingpopulations.Bycontrast,emissionsfromfossilfuelplantspose
significantthreatstohumanhealthandtheenvironment.Themainemissionsfromfossilfuelplantsareparticulate
matter,sulphurdioxide,nitrogenoxides,andavarietyofheavymetalsmercurybeingthemostprominent.Thus,
nuclearpoweralmostentirelyavoidstheenvironmentaleffectsoffossilfuelpollutants.
ChangingPublicAttitudes
Public opposition to nuclear powerstarted in earnest in the early 1970s. As the memories of the ThreeMile and
Chernobylaccidentsfadeandthesecurityofenergysuppliesandneedtocutgreenhousegasemissionscometo
theforeofpublicconcernsanddebates,attitudestowardnuclearpowerhavegraduallychanged.Apublicopinion
surveywascarriedouttowardnuclearpowerbetween1983and2008intheUnitedStates.Asurveyconductedin
September 2008 indicated that a recordhigh 74 percent of Americans favoured nuclear energy, with only 24
percent opposed. Those who strongly favoured nuclear power outnumbered those who strongly opposed by
almostfourtoone.ThefavourabilitymarkinSeptemberwas11percentagepointshigher,andtheunfavorability
level9percentagepointslowerthanwasthecasejustfivemonthsbefore[6].Similarsurveyhasbeencarriedoutin
Bangladesh in 2010 [7]. A survey conducted in March 2015 indicated that 70% of Bangladeshi people favoured
nuclearenergy,withonly30%opposed.In2010ssurveyitwas62%[7].
SafetyRisksandPerceptions
A unique hazard of nuclear plants is the potential for exposing the public to radiation. A major health hazard
wouldberesulted,forexample,ifasignificantportionoftheradioactiveinventoryinthecoreofanuclearreactor

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DeathsperTW.yr

wasreleasedtotheatmosphere.Suchreleasesareobviouslyunacceptable,andstepsaretakentoensurethatthey
neveroccur.Varioustechniquesareused,includingconservativedesigns,safetyequipment,andphysicalbarriers
toradiationreleasesifallothermeasuresfail.Physicalbarriersincludethecontainmentstructure,alargesteeland
concretestructureenvelopingthenuclearreactorandmanyofitssystems.Althoughobjectiveestimatesofsafety
levels can be made using physical laws and probability theory, setting safety criteria is often difficult and
subjective. Such standards must take into account the publics view of how safe is safe enough. As a result,
absoluteguaranteesofsafetyaresought.Butapolicybasedonthatpremiseoverlooksthefactthateveryhuman
activity entails some risk. In this context, it is useful to examine the effects on human life of various electricity
generationtechnologiesandtocomparetheeffectsperunitofelectricityproduced.Anumberofstudiescoverthis
subject.A1998sstudybySwitzerlandsPaulScherrerInstituteexaminestheexternalcostsofelectricityproduction
[8,9].Comparingdeathsbasedononeterawattyear,coalcaused342,hydropower883,naturalgas85,andnuclear
powerjust8(Fig.7).Giventhat,nuclearpowercurrentlygeneratesabout2500TWhayear,and8deathswould
occurevery3.5yearswhileproviding16percentoftheworldselectricity.
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Coal

Hydro

Gas

Nuclear

FIG.7.FATALITIESASSOCIATEDWITHFULLENERGYCHAINS(DEATHSPERTERAWATTYEAR).
SOURCE:HTTP://WWW.WORLDNUCLEAR.ORG/INFO/ECONOMICASPECTS/ENERGYSUBSIDIESANDEXTERNALCOSTS/

CurrentStatusandExpansionPlansforNuclearPower
Nuclearpowersshare[8]ofworldwideelectricityproductionrosefromlessthan1percentin1960to16percentin
1986,andthatpercentagehasheldessentiallyconstantforalmosttwodecadesfrom1986to2005.In2006,nuclear
powerssharedroppedto15percentandin2007itdroppedanotherpercentagepointto14percent.InJune2009,
thenuclearpowerindustrycomprised[8]:
o

438plantsinoperationin30countrieswithatotalnetinstalledcapacityof372GWofelectricaloutput.

45 power reactors were under construction in 14 countries which will increase current capacity by 10.7
percent;and131wereonorderorplanned,equivalentto38percentofpresentcapacity.

Electricitygenerationfromnuclearpowerisprojectedtoincreasefromabout2.7trillionkilowatthoursin2006to
3.8trillionkilowatthoursin2030.ThestrongestgrowthinnuclearpowerisprojectedtooccurinnonOECDAsia
(Fig.2).InChinaandIndia,forexample,electricitygenerationfromnuclearpowerisprojectedtogrow,from2006
to2030,atanaverageannualrateof8.9and9.9percentrespectively.OutsideAsia,thelargestgrowthamongthe
nonOECDnationsisprojectedforRussia,wherenuclearpowergenerationisprojectedtoincreasebyanaverage
of 3.5 percent per year. One of the attractions of nuclear power to Asia has been a perceived contribution to
Energy Security. Energy security means many things to many people. Thus any delay in constructing NPP in
suchcountrieswillhavethefollowingnegativeimpacts:
o

lowerallocationofoilexport,

increaseofoilpricesintheinternationalmarkets,

energysecuritylowersintheinternationalmarkets,

noaccessibilitytoenergymixtomeetenergysecurity,

morecontributiontogreenhousegases,

morecontributiontoacidrains,

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negativeimpactsonhealthandhygiene,

unsustainabledevelopment,

increaseofsocialandenvironmentalcostsofpowergeneration.

Accordingtothepresentanalysis,thediversificationofenergygenerationbyvariousenergysourcesisasecured
methodofplanningnationalenergypolicyinwhich,theNPPholdasubstantialunavoidableshare.Basedonthis
study,15000MWNPPispredictedasaprospectofNPPtobeconstructedwithin30yearstosecureasustainable
energydevelopmentinBangladesh.
NuclearReactorTechnologies
Because of its perceived advantages, nuclear power has attracted renewed interest from policymakers, energy
planners, utilities, and investors. Reflecting this interest, improved designs for nuclear reactors have emerged
whichareaddressingmanyofthepublichealthandsafetyrisksthatplaguedtheindustrysince1979.Thedesign
improvementsfallintotwobroadcategories:
o

evolutionary(knownasGenerationIIIandIII+reactors)and

revolutionary(knownasGenerationIV).Indeed,GenerationIVdesignsmayultimatelyoffermuchlarger
benefitsintermsofsafety,cost,andsustainability.

GenerationIIIandIII+ReactorDesigns
Themainreactordesigns[1012]thatarebeingactivelyconsideredforconstructionintheworldarethefollowing:

36

Pressurized(light) water reactors AP600andAP1000:Westinghouseand its partners havesubmitted two

pressurized water reactor designs for licensing to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The first, the
AP600an advanced passive reactor with gross electrical output of 600MWreceived its final design
approval from the Commission in 1998 and its design certification in 1999. But a subsequent design, the
AP1000 (with output of1000 MW), hassuperseded the AP600 becauseitslarger size whichis considered
moreappropriatefortheUSmarket.TheAP1000alsohasalowercapitalcostperunitofinstalledcapacity,
amajorconcerntofutureinvestors.

Evolutionary power reactor (EPR): to combine their technical knowhow and strengthen its commercial
posture,theFrenchfirmArevaboughttherightstoSiemensreactordesignsandnowofferstheEPR.EPRis
a pressurized water reactor with net electrical output of about 1600MW. According to Areva, the
evolutionary power reactors innovative features include safer operations, competitive costs, and
environmentallysustainabledevelopment.

Economicsimplifiedboilingwaterreactor(ESBWR):thisisaGenerationIII+evolutionarydesigninalong
lineofboilingwaterreactorsbuiltbyGeneralElectricintheUnitedStatesandoverseas.Thedesignofthe
ESBWR aims to increase plant security and safety, reduce capital costs, and improve operability and
maintainabilitywhich ultimately increase plant availability. Its simplified design well serves safety
improvements and cost reductions, the latter through a shorter construction period and lower costs for
pipesandothercomponents.Incorporationofpassivefeaturesdramaticallyreducesthechancethatactive
systems will fail when called on to intervene. The core damage probability and frequency of radioactive
releasedintotheatmospherearecalculatedasbeingverylow.

ACR700:AtomicEnergyofCanadaLimitedhasdevelopedanadvancednaturaluraniumreactor,knownas
the ACR700, that it considers an evolution from the Canadian deuterium (natural) uranium reactor
(CANDU) the line of Canadian reactors already operating in several countries. The ACR700 has been
aggressivelymarketedboastinglowprices,shortconstructiontimes,andfavorablefinancing.

VVER1200: the VVERs are the Russian counterpart of Western European and US versions of the
pressurizedwaterreactor(PWR)designs.Likeallotherreactorsutilizinglightwatertechnology,theVVER
design uses water to cool the reactor and to generate steam. A third generation VVER1200 of AES2006
design.ThisislargelyanevolutionarydevelopmentoftheVVER1000reactorplant,withlongerdesignlife
(50rather30years),greaterpower,andincreasedefficiency(36.6percentinsteadof31.6percent).Itsdesign

InternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015www.ijnese.org

incorporatessignificantpassivefeaturescompletelyindependentoperationwithoutoperatorsintervention
foratleast24h[10].
o

Otherdesigns:anumberofotherreactordesignshavebeenproposed,butdonotseemtohavethesame
potentialforcommercialrealizationasthoseabove.Someofthemmayhaveapotentialforcountrieswith
small electricity markets. These include: (i) the pebblebed modular reactor (PBMR), promoted by South
African utility ESCOM; (ii) the gas turbine modular helium reactor (GTMHR) promoted by the US firm
GeneralAtomic;and(iii)andthe4Sreactor,designedandpromotedbyToshibaofJapan.

GenerationIVreactordesigns
TheGenerationIVInternationalForumisaUSledassociationof13nationsthatseekstodevelopanewgeneration
ofcommercialnuclearreactordesignsby2030.Criteriaforequalvaluedfixedrevenuedeliveredoverthelifeofthe
assets generating profile would cause the project to break even. Criteria for reactor design consideration by the
initialsustainableenergy(extendedfuelavailability,environmentalimpact),competitiveenergy(lowcosts,short
constructiontimes),safeandreliableenergy(inherentsafetyfeatures,publicconfidenceinnuclearenergysafety),
andproliferationresistance(doesnotundulyaddtounsecurednuclearmaterial)andphysicalprotection(security
fromterroristattacks).
There are six main reactor types in use around the world. The various designs use different concentrations of
uraniumforfuel,differentmoderatorstoslowdownthefissionprocess,anddifferentcoolantstotransferheat.A
comparisonofbasiccharacteristicsofcommoncivilianreactorsisshowninTable2.
TABLE2.COMPARISONBETWEENPWR,BWR,PHWR/CANDUREACTOR

PWR

BWR

PHWR/CANDU

No.ofnuclearrector

264

94

44

%ofreactor

61

31

810

Reactordesigner/
manufacturer

USA.Japan,France,
Germany,Russia,China,
Korea

USA.Japan,Sweden,
Switzerland

AtomicEnergyCanada
Limited.UsedinBrazil,
China,SouthKorea

Size/Rating

3001400MW

Mediumsize

600700MW

CostEstimation
Assessingtherelativecostsofnewgeneratingplantsutilizingdifferenttechnologiesisacomplexmatterandthe
resultsdependcruciallyonlocation.Nuclearpowerplantsareexpensivetobuild,butrelativelycheaptorun.In
manyplaces,nuclearenergyiscompetitivewithfossilfuelsasameansofelectricitygeneration.Thelevelizedcost
of electricity (LCOE)isameasureofapowersourcewhichattemptstocomparedifferentmethodsofelectricity
generationonacomparablebasis.Itisaneconomicatotalcosttobuildandoperateapoweritslifetimedividedby
the total power output of the asset over that lifetime. The levelized cost is that value for which an equalvalued
fixed revenue delivered over the assets generating profile would cause the project to break even. This can be
roughlycalculatedasthenetpresentvalueofallcostsoverthelifetimeoftheassetdividedbythetotalelectricity
outputoftheasset.
Thelevelizedcostofelectricity(LCOE)isgivenby:
LCOE

Where,
It : investmentexpendituresintheyeart,
Mt : operationsandmaintenanceexpendituresintheyeart,
Ft : fuelexpendituresintheyeart,
Et : electricalenergygeneratedintheyeart,
r : discountrate,
n : expectedlifetimeofsystemorpowerstation.

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www.ijnese.orgInternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015

In 2013, the US Energy Information Administration published figures for the average levelized costs per unit of
outputforgeneratingtechnologiestobebroughtonlinein2018,asmodeledfiritsAnnualEnergyOutlook.The
LevelizedCostofEnergyfornewpowerplantsfromvariousenergysourcesshowingthatfornewconstruction,
naturalgasandnucleararethetwocheapestsourcesofelectricitygenerationinthenearfuture(Fig.8).Theactual
capitalcostofnuclearisaboutthesameascoalandverymuchmorethananygasoption.The2015editionofthe
OECDstudyonProjectedCostsofGeneratingElectricityshowedthattherangeforlevelisedcostofelectricity(LCOE)
variedmuchmorefornuclearthancoalorCCGTwithdifferentdiscountrates,duetoitsbeingcapitalintensive.
ThenuclearLCOEislargelydrivenbycapitalcosts.At3%discountrate,nuclearwassubstantiallycheaperthan
the alternatives inall countries, at7%it was comparable with coalandstill cheaper than gas, andat 10% it was
comparablewithboth.

CostperkWhour(US
cents)

15
10
5
0

FIG.8LEVELIZEDENERGYCOSTSFORNEWPOWERPLANTS(SOURCE:DATAFROMIER2015REPORT)

TheprojectednuclearLCOEcostsforplantsbuilt20152020,$/MWhisshowninTable3fordifferentdiscountrates.
TABLE3.PROJECTEDNUCLEARLCOECOSTSFORPLANTSBUILT20152020,$/MWH

Country

At3%discountrate

At7%discountrate

At10%discountrate

Belgium

51.5

84

116.8
48.864.4

China

25.630.8

37.247.6

Finland

46.1

77.6

109.1

France

50.0

82.6

115.2

Hungary

53.9

89.9

125.0
112.5

Japan

62.6

87.6

SouthKorea

28.6

40.4

51.4

Slovakia

53.9

84.0

116.5

UK

64.4

100.8

135.7

USA

54.3

77.7

101.8

ReactorTechnologyforBangladesh
Basedontechnicalinformationandproventechnology,BangladeshshouldgoGEN3/GEN3+ reactorsystem.With
a consideration of system simplicity, economic competitiveness, economic benefits, economic liability, safety
consideration, digital instrumentation and control system, compliments for the latest safety code for the
considerationofsevereaccidentsaregivenlikeChernobylandFukushimadisaster,physicalprotectionandissues
ofnuclearsecurityandsafeguards.Basedonproventechnologyrecords,RussianVVER1000MW/VVER1200MW
nuclearpowersystemscanbeconsideredforRNPprojecttobeoperatedby2024/2025.
Conclusions
Electricalenergyplaysavitalroleinthedevelopmentofcivilization.Theadvancementofacountryismeasuredin
terms of per capital consumption of electrical energy. Nuclear energy these days are safe, reliable and on the
context of Bangladesh capable of reducing the gap between demand and production significantly. The 3rd
GenerationPressurizedWaterReactorswithautomatedandinbuiltsafetyfeaturesmakeNuclearEnergyareliable
source of massive electricity production. On the basis of present energy scenario of Bangladesh, nuclear energy
based power production should be the best solution to the overall energy crisis as well as sustainable energy
development[12].

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InternationalJournalofNuclearEnergyScienceandEngineering(IJNESE)Volume5,2015www.ijnese.org

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

TheauthorswouldliketothankfacultymembersofNuclearScienceandBiomedicalEngineeringFacultyofMIST
for their valuable cooperation to complete the task. Cordial thanks also to the Mr. Jubair Sied, MIST for his
valuablehelp.
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