LONG TERM ENERGY SECURITY FOR BANGLADESH – FEASIBILITY OF NUCLEAR POWER

Abstract

Energy is and will remain one of the major global concerns of the 21stcentury
and Bangladesh is no exception. With global energy demand expected to grow
strongly in the coming years, burning questions are now being raised over the
future of energy supplies, the economic competitiveness of different energy sources
and the associated environmental impacts. Energy consumption in Bangladesh
is very low compared to other nations. Only one third people are under power
supply coverage. Bangladesh aspires to be a middle income country through
economic emancipation. But the power sector is hardly capable of meeting its
energy requirement with existing infrastructure. At present our gas sector provides
most of our commercial energy needs. The state of existing gas reserve is not
very encouraging. There is other indigenous source like coal. But exploration
and exploitation of coal is environmentally challenging. Moreover, existing
recoverable coal may not fulfill the energy requirement of next twenty years. At
this juncture, to attain her energy security, Bangladesh opted for nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy has many positives while it has few negatives too. Bangladesh is
not capable of establishing and operating a nuclear plant at its own now. She has
already signed a bi-lateral agreement with Russia for construction of the first
Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh. There is a necessity for threadbare analysis
of the merits and demerits of nuclear energy in the context of Bangladesh with
lessons derived from the world. The research will identify and analyse all pros
and cons of nuclear power in Bangladesh and recommend objective suggestions,
if necessary, to support Bangladesh’s aspirations to go nuclear and usher into a
new world of development.