A Report on

“Installation of Nuclear Power Plant : A Solution to the Power Crisis in

Bangladesh”

Prepared for

Khanam Nargis Sultana

&

Nishat Sultana

Department of Humanities

Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Dhaka- 1000

Prepared By

1. Tahmida Binte Mahmud 2.Muhammad Asaduzzaman

Student No. 0706061 Student No. 0706062

3. Mohammad Saad Billah 4.Tanvir Hossain Galib

Student No. 0706063 Student No. 0706064

5. Sharifa Sultana 6.Nazmul Hassan

Student No. 0706065 Student No. 0706066

iii

Forwarding Letter

13 May, 2009

Khanam Nargis Sultana

Nishat Sultana

Department of Humanities

Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Dhaka- 1000

Dear Teachers,

It is honour and pleasure to submit our report on “Installation of Nuclear Power Plant: A

Solution to the Power Crisis in Bangladesh”. In this report, we tried our best to visualize the

present power crisis of Bangladesh & its solution.

It is our pleasure to express our gratitude to both of you, our honorable teachers, for your kind

assistance, proper instructions and valuable suggestions. Gratitude also goes to our friends of

section B and Dr. Md. Shawkat Akbar, Head of Nuclear Power and Energy Division, Bangladesh

Atomic Energy Commission & Dr. Md. Farhad Mina, Professor, Department of Physics, BUET

who sincerely co-operated with us to collect data.

With our very best effort, we included only the necessary data to keep the size of the report

within limit. We would like to apologize for any kind of mistakes that we might have made

unintentionally due to time constraints and other limitations.

Yours faithfully,

Student no: 0706061-0706066

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Dhaka – 1000

iv

Table of Contents:

Forwarding Letter iii

Table of Contents iv

List of Illustrations v

Summary vi

1. Introduction

a. New Title 01

2. Possible Solution 03

a.Steam Turbine, Gas Turbine or Combined Cycle Power plant 03

b.Solar Power Plant 03

c.Wind Power Plant 04

d. Nuclear Power Plant 04

3. Nuclear Power Project in Different Countries 05

4. Nuclear Power plant: Best Possible Solution to Solve the Power Crisis of Bangladesh? 06

a. What Bangladesh thinks about power crisis and nuclear power plants? 07

b. Future projects 07

c. Rooppur Project 07

d. Why nuclear power plant is a must? 08

5. Challenges We May Face 09 a. Producing carbon dioxide 09

b. Nuclear fuel 09

c. Catastrophic consequences 09

d. Nuclear Ghost Town 10

6. Conclusion: 10

7. Recommendations: 11

8. Appendix 12

9. List of References 13

10. Glossary 14

v

List of Illustrations:

Fig 1.1: Load – generation balance in past 7 years 01

Fig 1.2: A typical daily load curve 02

Fig 1.3: Consumption pattern of BPDB 02

Fig 2.1: Total Power Generation per year 04

Table 3.1: %Total power from nuclear power plant in developed countries 05

Table 3.2: %Total power from nuclear power plant in neighbour countries 05

Table 4.1: Carbon Dioxide Emission in Different Power Plants 06

Fig 4.1: Deaths per year at different types of power plants 06

Fig 4.2: Future projects according to PSMP 07

Fig 4.3: Electricity per unit production cost for different power plants 08

Fig 5.1: Treatment of radioactive waste 09

Fig 5.2: Pripyat, A nuclear ghost town 10

vi

Summary:

As almost all the people of Bangladesh are the worst sufferers of load shedding, it is not

unknown to us that our country is passing through the most hazardous crisis of power in its total

lifetime. Bangladesh is not a well developed country in the sector of technology; poor economic

condition, scarcity of resources, mismanagement in processing technology of these resources are

contributing to the discontinuity of scientific progress and the power sector as well. It is high

time we thought about some more alternative way to solve the problem. Using the available

resources in a different way was a thought, which showed us their immaturity in the socio-

economic condition of Bangladesh. Discussing although the possibilities of each solution, we

saw that accepting foreign aid and setting up of new power plant to produce energy using nuclear

reaction can be a favourable solution. It’s true that we might face some challenges at the

beginning but if we really want to emerge as a roaring “Royal Bengal Tiger” in the soil of

mother world, we must overcome the challenges through our wisdom and awareness.

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“According to the law of nature, deficiency of power is supplied by duration

of time” –Robert Jameson

We know nature favours those who help themselves. So we also must not leave the power crisis

problem to the time and sit idle. At present, it has reached to such an agonizing level that

virtually it has crippled the nation. So it is not possible for our country to stand up solving the

problem in a day. Timely investigation and sustainable approach together can unravel the

problem. At present context, Nuclear Power Plant seems to be the most reliable crutch relying on

which our country can try to stand up again. We also must keep other possible solutions in the

frame of our mind so that we can step out of this anomalous power crisis situation within the

lowest possible time. It is true that so many challenges will impede the process of nuclear power

plant installation but we need to move onward with the nuclear power plant project if we really

wish to decode the enigmatic power crisis solution.

The Present Situation of Power in Bangladesh:

The most common as well visible result of power crisis is the huge amount of load-shedding

which we are experiencing this year at an alarming rate even 12 hours a day in some places. In

Bangladesh only 43 % citizen of the

entire population have access to

electricity facility with a per capita

consumption of 140 KWH-this rate is

rather low compared with 325 in Sri

Lanka, 498 in Pakistan and 665 in

India. Our daily demand of electricity

is 4500 MW and the net generation is

3600 MW which indicates the huge

gap between demand and supply. A

quick look to some brief information may clear our vision about the current situation.

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Electricity Growth: 7.2 % in 2008

Installed Capacity: 5450 MW (Jan 01,

2009)

BPDB: 3809 MW

IPP: 1641 MW

Peak Demand: 6000 MW (summer 2009)

Generation Capacity: 4500 MW (summer

2009)

Anticipated Load Shed: 1000-1500 MW

(summer 2009)

Per Capita Consumption: 149 kWh / annum

(FY 2008)

Access to Electricity: 45 % (FY 2008)

DPDC is in charge of power distribution in Dhaka metropolis and 60 % of its suburbs .950 MW

per day is the power demand of DPDC franchise which was expected to rise to 1200 MW from

April 2009.But per day allocation for DPDC is only 600 MW excluding the 12% distribution

loss. The power demand in DESCO is 450-550 MW and allocation is only 250 MW. The Power

Sector Master Plan (PSMP) approved

in 2005, forecasts that this year we

will have 7200 MW power demand

and suggests 10% higher generation

capacity than the demand projected.

Practically the installed capacity of the

existing power plants is 4921 MW.

Because of routine emergency and

maintenance 800 MW is inaccessible

and due to gas supply constraints another 700 MW

remains unused. There is also additional demand of

1500 MW for the irrigation pumps. In the Eastern Zone indigenous gas and a small amount of

hydro power are used for electricity generation and the Western Zone depends on coal and

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imported fuel. But as the per unit generation cost is lower in the Eastern Zone electricity

generated in the Eastern Zone in transferred to the Western Zone using the East-West Inter

connector transmission line of 230 kV.Gas crisis greatly contribute to power crisis for example a

45 MW captive power plant of Maloncho is not in production from January 2009.We have a

deficiency of 1100 MW going towards 3800 MW indicating our inability to meet about 60 % of

the demand.

We have the clear idea now that the problem of power crisis is increasing day by day

affecting our economic progress, national security and social condition. Mere ignorance and

petty idealism can lead the country to complete darkness. So it is high time now we found

possible and effective solutions to the existing power crisis. Only quick, decisive and bold steps

can help the nation the overcome the crisis and make our dream of digital Bangladesh come true.

Possible Solutions:

Steam Turbine, Gas Turbine or Combined Cycle Power plant: Steam Turbine, Gas Turbine

or Combined Cycle Power plants are the main source of power generation of Bangladesh. About

95% of total power generation is from this type of power plants. This type of Power plant uses

gas, coal or diesel as raw material. According to Power sector master plan (PSMP), there are

more ST, GT and CC power plants to be built in future to meet the demand. But the main

problem is the deficiency of the natural resources. Bangladesh does not possess any oil mines,

only natural gas & coals are available. Currently, there is only storage of 14 TCF natural gas

among which 5 TCF gas is needed for the CNG driven vehicles up to year 2035. Rest of the gas

(9 TCF) is needed for power generation, in the factories & industries, for household work etc.

The coal mines of Bangladesh can contribute only 1138 Million tons. But after 2014, if average

GDP growth at 8% is considered, then 26 TCF gas will be required which is equivalent to 1

Billion tons of Coal. So, we must find an alternate way.

- 4 -

Solar power plant: Solar power plant is used throughout the country with over 70000 household

level installation comprising 3.5 MW total capacity. But this is very insignificant amount

considering the total generation and these panels are intended for individual use. For setting up

solar panel we also require much space which is not available always and commercial large scale

solar panels are very much expensive to deploy & are not affordable for Bangladesh.

Wind Power plant: Wind turbines can be used to generate electricity in areas with strong,

steady winds. But additional work is needed on technical requirements and opportunities for

wind power in monsoonal

regions, as extensive wind

development has taken place in

India, where conditions similar to

Bangladesh can be found.

Nuclear power plant: Nuclear

Energy is the most promising

renewable energy source for

Bangladesh. Many developed and

developing countries are producing electricity from the nuclear plants. In nuclear reactor,

through nuclear fission reaction it heats water to produce steam, which is then converted to

mechanical work for the purpose of generating electricity. In 2007, 14% of the world's electricity

came from nuclear power. Nuclear power is widely recognized as a safe and clean energy

because it does not emit CO2, SO2 and NOX and does contribute anything which can lead to any

environmental pollution. In Bangladesh steps must be taken to setup nuclear plants to meet up

the emerging demand of the energy in future.

5

Nuclear Power Project in Different Countries:

The first nuclear power plant of the world started its journey on June 27, 1954 in Obninsk,

outside Moscow. Immediately all the other developed countries followed this footstep.

Country Reactors Total Production (MW) %Total Production

US 104 100,599 19.4%

France 59 63,473 77%

Japan 55 47,577 27.5%

Germany 17 20,339 26%

In the 1970’s several developing countries started their nuclear power project. India and

Pakistan, for example started in 1969 and 1971 respectively. Now they are set to produce a

significant amount of their demand in the form of nuclear power.

Country Reactors Total Production (MW) %Total Production

India 17 4120 2.8%

Pakistan 2 400 2.3%

India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power program and expects to have

20,000 MW nuclear capacities on line by 2020. It aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear

power by 2050. 1980’s saw a huge anti-nuclear movement fuelled by the Chernobyl incident.

Many countries considered to abandon their nuclear programme. But now, thanks to advanced

technologies the world is leaning to Nuclear Power yet again.

A€50 Billion Mistake: In Italy, Nuclear power was utilized until the Italian nuclear power

referendum closed all plants by 1990, a decision which was reversed in 2008. Calling the phase-

out a "terrible mistake, the cost of which totaled over €50 billion (approximately $68 billion)".

Italy may have the Luxury to make a €50 billion mistake but Bangladesh cannot afford it.

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Nuclear Power plant: Best Possible Solution to Solve the Power Crisis of

Bangladesh?

It just seems surprising that some people oppose to set

up nuclear power plants. Even a group of

environmentalists come up with severe criticism at the

question of setting up nuclear power plant. They feel

worried about anything and everything that emits CO2.

Here goes a chart. Hopefully this will remove their

anxiousness.

If we search around the world, we will find that there

are 440 nuclear power plants at present in 31 countries

producing 14% of the world‟s electricity. If we shut

down all these plants then we will have set out in

search of some new „Saudi Arabia‟. But the

interesting thing is that even the present total production of oil from Saudi Arabia would not be

sufficient to run these 440 nuclear power plants. As the potential electricity producing sources

like coal, gas and coil are exhaustible, today or tomorrow we must have to certify nuclear power

plant as the best possible solution to produce electricity. Installation of nuclear power plant costs

higher just to ensure the safety-case. If

we just fear radiation then we also

have to shut down all the coal-fired

power stations which produce 40% of

total world electricity because a coal

power plant releases 100 times as

much radiation as a nuclear power

plant of equal power generation

capacity releases. The World Nuclear

Association provides a very interesting

comparison of deaths due to accidents at

885

342

858

0

200

400

600

800

1000

hydropower coal natural gas nuclear

Deaths per TW-yr of electricity produced from 1970-1992

at different types of power stations

- 7 -

different types of power stations. We just cannot deny the role that nuclear power plants can

convincingly play in the power generation even in the context of third world countries like

Bangladesh.

What Bangladesh thinks about power crisis and nuclear power plants?

National Energy Policy: The government formulated and announced revised NEP (National

Energy Policy) of the country in 2004 aims at ensuring proper exploration, production and

rational use of energy sources to meet the growing energy demand of country on a sustainable

basis. Some of the objectives of NEP are:

1. To bring entire country under electrification by the year 2020.

2. To ensure reliable supply of energy to the people at reasonable and affordable price.

3. To develop a regional energy market for rational exchange of commercial energy to

ensure energy security.

Future projects:

As Bangladesh is eyeing to reach

electricity to every citizen by the

year 2020, several projects have

been under consideration. The

charts beside show the cost for

those projects (in Million US

dollar) and the capacity of the

plants (in MW).From these charts

it is prominent that Bangladesh is

progressing harmonically to meet

power crisis permanently on a sustainable

basis. By 2020 we shall have at least two units at Rooppur. Mawa may be another nuclear park if

we want to set up more nuclear power plants.

Rooppur project:

Bangladesh at long last has understood that nuclear power plant is the best device to crack the

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hard nut-„power crisis‟. Some of the key points of Rooppur project are.

Installation site: Rooppur, Pabna: 125km north-west to capital Dhaka

Estimated power generation capacity: 700-1000 MW though experts believe at best 600 MW

plant is possible. Physicist Dr C S Karim, a former chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Commission

opined that anything around 300 to 600 would be okay.

No of power plants: Two.

Investment required: 1-1.5 billion US dollar.

Estimated time to complete the whole process: 10 years.

As we have immaculate non-proliferation history, the global nuclear watchdog IAEA gave a

clearance last year to go ahead with this nuclear power plant project. IAEA also provided

366,000 US dollars as technical support. Russia, the country that helped to establish 65 nuclear

plants around the world in the last decade, is very much eager to provide financial and technical

support to set up the plant. Recently they have said that they are eager to provide only loan and

not grants. Diplomatic initiatives must be taken so that we can manage some grants also.

Some people may question at the installation of nuclear power plants because the investment cost

involved is pretty high. But we need to keep in mind that fuel cost, O&M cost are comparatively

much lower. For example, a 600MW nuclear power plant may cost 1.2 billion US dollar with 40-

45 million fuel cost a year. But a coal-fired power plant installed with US$ 600 million only,

require US$ 120 million a year at current prices. So Per unit cost of electricity from nuclear

power plant is very much

competitive with coal-fired

steam.

Why nuclear power plant is

a must?

At present, Bangladesh

practically runs completely on

natural gases. But the onshore

gas reserve has depleted to

- 9 -

such a point that at the present consumption rate they can at best meet demand for another 25

years. So we have two options: to go for nuclear power plant or to look for offshore natural gas.

But geologists believe it would be a gambling to go for offshore natural gas. Professor Md.

Hussain Monsur, Department of Geology, Dhaka University commented on the matter in an

interview “I don’t think there is a huge gas reserve in the Bay of Bengal”. So it certainly will

not be wiser for Bangladesh to run after natural gases. At the present context, nuclear power

plant can only be the best possible solution to puzzle out from the problem of power crisis.

Challenges We May Face:

Producing carbon dioxide: Nuclear fuel does not produce carbon dioxide, but it does provide a

unique set of problems all of its own. Mining and purifying uranium has not always been a very

clean process. The

transportation of nuclear

fuel to and from plants

poses a contamination risk.

Nuclear fuel: A nuclear

power plant generates s 20

metric tons of used nuclear

fuel a year. This is

classified as high-level

radioactive waste. When you multiply this by

every known nuclear plant on earth, the combined total rises to 2,000 metric tons yearly. These

are radioactive and potentially lethal. This is particularly true of the spent fuels, which must be

stored or disposed of in some way.

Catastrophic consequences: The plants themselves have shown to have catastrophic

consequences when things go wrong. The Chernobyl disaster is a good example. On 26 April

1986 01:23:45 the Ukrainian reactor exploded following decisions taken to rectify some

- 10 -

relatively lax procedure. It is the only level 7 instance on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

50 tons of radioactive material discharged into the surrounding area, contaminating millions of

acres of farmland and forest. The disaster forced the evacuation of tens of thousand of people

and eventually caused untold numbers to die from cancer and other illnesses.

Nuclear Ghost Town

Pripyat, Ukraine, is a ghost town of empty buildings

and overgrown weeds. The town had to be abandoned

after the nuclear explosion at the nearby Chernobyl

nuclear power plant. What will happen to the nuclear

waste is also a big question. One thing is for certain; it

will be good when certain green technologies help

wean us off nuclear power, and, by extension, fossil

fuels. Then we will be able to ensure the safety

arrangement of the system.

Conclusion:

Adopting a positive attitude and an optimistic view, we have to solve our problem of power

crisis. But if we take natural gas, coal, steam, solar energy and wind as the possible solutions, it

may not be fruitful for the future of country. Survey that we launched also supports our idea.

People are at least not pessimist. They know the present condition is vulnerable but still they

believe we can get out of the problem if the government can complete all its planned projects

including Rooppur project within time. If we aspire to bring the entire country under

electrification by the year 2020 without creating any negative impact on our socio-economic

condition, we have to receive foreign aid to set up nuclear plant and simultaneously have to

explore our own natural resources. So by analyzing all the aspects of different solutions, it is for

sure that the construction of nuclear power plant can mitigate the distressing power crisis

problem.

- 11 -

Recommendations:

Though the total installed capacity of existing power plants is 5375 MW, 700 MW is

inaccessible due to gas supply constraint. Government should increase the gas supply at

the power plants rather fertilizer factories because according to the information of

agriculture ministry, imported fertilizers cost less than producing in Bangladesh

Additional 600 MW can also be retrieved by proper maintenance of the power plants &

replacement of some 50 year old machinery which has ran out of their lifetime.

We have serious gas shortfall, but still government has to install more ST, GT & CC

power plants before installing the first nuclear power plant. Because, according to BPDB,

when a base load power plant is installed, its capacity must be within 10% of the current

generation capacity. So, if the government does not increase the generation capacity now,

even a 400 MW nuclear power plant will be of no use in 2015.

There is a proposed international oil pipeline from Iran through Pakistan to India. We can

work to extend it to Bangladesh.

Our closest neighbor Assam is filled with natural resources .We can Import resources

from there .We also have to explore and exploit our own natural resources.

Privatization of Power sector can be the next step. We have all seen the revolution in the

telecom sector .If we can encourage the foreign investors to make the investment then the

situation can change dramatically. The privatized power plants produce almost 1500 Mw

today. With a friendlier environment where the rules are loosened things can be different.

For remote villages, desolate hill tracts, islands we need not reach grid power supply,

rather solar, wind and biogas generation will do for those type regions.

Mine city is a good concept. Government soon take appropriate action to start coal

mining in Phulbaria and in other mines applying most suitable method to extract

maximum coal.

Unfortunately, due to geological and political position of our country Bangladesh is, at

least to a minimum degree, terrorist-threatened country. So all required move to set up

nuclear power plants should be taken with sagacity. Vigorous campaign must be

launched to uproot terrorism from the soil of our country.

- 12 -

Appendix:

Questionnaire:

We some students of Electrical and Electronic Department, BUET are preparing a report on the

topic “Installation of Nuclear Power Plant: A Solution to the Power Crisis in Bangladesh”. It is

our pleasure to know your valuable opinion about the matter. Please choose the answers of the

following questions and put a tick mark on the box

Name: ........................................................... Age: .......... Location :....................................

1. What do you think about the degree of power crisis in our country? Power crisis is

Severe Severe and intolerable Minor and insignificant

2. Can privatization of power sector solve the problem of power crisis?

Yes No No comment

3. Onshore natural gas is depleting. There is also no assurance of offshore natural gas. So do

you suggest to take the risky project of exploring offshore natural gas or to go for some other

solution? Go for

Offshore gas Other solution No comment

4. Do you think nuclear power plant is the only possible solution of the power crisis problem?

Yes No No comment

5. Do you think Rooppur project will be a success?

Yes No No comment

6. Should we discourage the construction of nuclear power plants thinking of the environmental

threats?

Yes No No comment

7. Does Bangladesh have the technological ability to maintain a nuclear power plant ensuring

the safety issues?

Yes No No comment

8. Is it a good idea to privatize the nuclear power plant in our country if set up?

Yes No No comment

9. Do you fear financial problem can halt the Rooppur project?

Yes No No comment

10. Can our government reach electricity to every house by the year 2020?

Yes No No comment

“Sorry for wasting your valuable time & thanks a lot for your kind help”

- 13 -

List of References:

1. Bangladesh Power Development Board Official Website – www.bpdb.gov.bd

2. Power Crisis: Issues and Challenges by Md. Mizanur Rahman, Magazine „Energy &

Power‟ : Volume 6 Issue 15

3. Plunged into Darkness by Mollah M Amzad Hossain, Magazine „Energy & Power‟ :

Volume 6 Issue 15

4. Power crisis in Bangladesh - Posted by B. Doza in BANGLADESH, Budget,

ECONOMY, GOVERNANCE.

5. National Energy Policy – Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources

6. Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh 2008: Bangladesh Bureau of statistics, Planning

Division, Ministry of Planning, Government of People‟s Republic of Bangladesh

7. Indendent Bangladesh: Internet Edition: 25 December 2007

8. Magazine „The Executive Times‟: April 2009 issue

9. Wikipedia – en.wikipedia.org

10. Fifty Years From Trinity - www.seattletimes.com/trinity

11. PBS Online : Nuclear Reaction - www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction

12. How Nuclear Radiation Works - www.howstuffworks.com/nuclear.htm

13. Bangladesh Must Go Nuclear to Meet Energy Demand , a news article by Engr.

Khondkar Abdus Saleque - www.energybangla.com

- 14 -

Glossary

BPDB – Bangladesh Power Development Board

CC – Combined Cycle

CNG – Concentrated Natural Gas

CO2 – Carbon Dioxide

DESCO – Dhaka Electric Supply Company

€ (Euro) – A common monetary unit for the whole Europe

GDP – Gross Domestic Product

GT – Gas Turbine

GWH – Giga Watt Hour (A unit for power measurement)

IAEA-International Atomic Energy Association

INEA-International Nuclear Event Scale introduced by IAEA in 1990 to enable promot

communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents

IPP – Independent Power Plant

KM2 - Square Kilometer

KV - Kilo Volt (1 Kilo Volt = 1000 Volt)

KWH – Kilo Watt Hour (A unit for power measurement)

Metric ton – One thousand kilogram

MMCF - 1000000 Cubic Feet

MMCFD - 1000000 Cubic Feet per day

MW – Mega Watt

NEP – National Energy Policy

NOX - Oxides of Nitrogen

Nuclear fission reaction – The reaction by which power is produced in a Nuclear power plant

Nuclear park-a site suitable for setting up nuclear power plants

O&M cost-Operation and Maintenance cost

Peak Demand – The maximum demand of a particular day

Plutonium – A Radioactive Material

Plutonium oxide – A lethal compound

SO2 - Sulphur Dioxide

ST – Steam Turbine

TBTU - Trillion British Thermal Unit

TCF – Trillion Cubic Feet

Thorium - A Radioactive element that is used as raw material in Nuclear power plant

Uranium – A Radioactive element that is used as raw material in Nuclear power plant

Uranyl nitrate – A lethal compound produced from radioactive waste