Pakistan to generate 40000 MW nuclear power as part of Nuclear Energy Vision 2050

Pakistan set to itself a target of generating 40000 MW nuclear energy. It will be achieved as part of the Nuclear Energy Vision 2050.

An announcement in this regard was made by the Chairman of the PAEA on 17 September 2015 at the 59th IAEA General Conference at Vienna in Austria.

While PAEA stands for Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, IAEA stands for the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Features of Nuclear Energy Vision 2050

• Its objective is to supply one-fourth of Pakistan’s total energy requirement as predicted for 2050.
• As part of the vision, 8800 MW and 40000 MW of nuclear energy will be produced by 2030 and 2050 respectively.
• To implement the vision, 32 nuclear power plants (NPPS) will be set up in eight identified sites by constructing 8 plants at a site.

Comment

In July 2015, Pakistan experienced an acute power crisis as Karachi plunged into darkness. The blackouts along with heat wave claimed lives of over 1000 people.

At present, Pakistan is generating only 725 MW nuclear energy and 20000 MW from other sources.

Though the vision is expected to play a crucial role in the development of Pakistan, there exist few persisting concerns related to Pakistan’s nuclear energy programme as a whole.

The concerns are-China’s assistance to Pakistan in the nuclear front as a rebalancing act vis-à-vis India and chances of terrorist organizations taking control of NPPs.

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