Maverick's World

Reinventing the wheel and assorted bullshit

Hi,

I was following a discussion on the disreputable forum.

There is some talk of Indian efforts at DAE being akin to reinventing the wheel. This reinventing the wheel is actually very old NPA psyops and so now it needs to be answered.

The CANDU series had to "reinvented" in India after the technology denial regime was put in place in 1974 by the NPA.

Today the FBR technology can't be "reinvented" because it has not been "invented" anywhere else. Yes other nations have developed Fast Breeders but this technology was never allowed to progress to a really commercially viable stage, so most of the technology to make breeders work commercially has to be "invented" in India.

The three stage closed fuel cycle can't be "reinvented" in India because it has not been "invented" elsewhere. That means things like commercially operated Thorium-Uranium MOX fueled reactors or Thorium-Plutonium MOX reactors are all going to be "invented" in India.
A few countries have tried out some experimental designs but no one has any working technology that can be "reinvented" in India (or China for that matter).

Is nuclear power a risk? yes it is, but so is continually exploiting carbon fuels without thinking about the environmental impact.

At least in the case of nuclear power the risks are known.

What is the price of remaining dependent on carbon based fuel sources?

At this point the NPA are going to put on a huge show, they are going to do everything in their power to avoid being blamed for the trade disaster that is going to follow India's refusal to buy any American reactors until the July 18th agreement is met to India's satisfaction.

The NPA unwisely put on a show and blocked President Bush's initiative to open the trade door to India for US nuclear industries. The NPA pretended that they could subdue India with such "hard negotiation" tactics. It has not worked, India is far from subdued, the NPA and their South Asia colleagues have misread the GoI.

If the July 18 the agreement is not implemented to our satisfaction, India will seek what is best in its national interest, even if it mean approaching Iran for the necessary fuel supplies. I do not need to tell you what that means for Pakistan, I am sure you can figure it out on your own.

posted by maverick @ 9:12 AM