The enactment of the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Act recently affords us an opportunity to take a close look at the challenges in the power sector in the context of global warming and the growing importance of solar energy.

Ever since the invention of the incandescent light bulb by Thomas Alva Edison in 1879 and Nikola Tesla’s demonstration of the phosphorescent light bulb in 1893, electric power has become an integral part of modern society. With electricity heating our homes, powering our motors and running our machines, modern industry and economy are inseparable from electric power generation and distribution. For over a century, coal has been the chief source of electric power for the world. Natural gas, another fossil fuel, and clean hydropower, converting the energy of flowing water into electricity, have been other sources of power. With the advent of the atomic age, we learnt to control the nuclear fission chain reaction and produce electricity from the heat generated.

As of now nuclear energy accounts for about 9% of the global electricity generation. There are 440 operating nuclear power plants in 31 countries, with a total generating capacity of about 400 GW (400,000 MW). Nuclear energy accounts for about 20% of the carbon-free power today. The United States (97 GW), France (63 GW), China (61 GW), Russia (27 GW), and South Korea (26 GW) are the leaders in nuclear power generation. In terms of the share of nuclear power in electricity generation, France ranks first (67%). Among large economies,........

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