<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is gearing up to explore the options of setting up a thorium-based power plant by making use of the rich thorium deposits in the state's coastal areas.</p><p>In a bid to avoid public resistance, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government is initiating public discussions and collecting public feedback about the plans.</p>.Thorium based reactors to be ready in a decade.<p>Kerala electricity minister K Krishnankutty said on Monday that the state's coastal area got rich thorium deposits that could help to produce cheap and clean fuel to meet the demands for more than 200 years. The state could even become self-sufficient in power generation with thorium plants.</p><p>Top officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) already visited a reactor set up by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and held discussions on the possibility of setting up a reactor in Kerala. The details of the plan would be released after getting a nod from the state cabinet. A policy decision of the ruling front might be required on the matter.</p><p>According to BARC, even as the country has only limited resources of uranium, it has large thorium resources especially in Kerala and Odisha. The beach sands of Kerala and Orissa have rich reserves of monazite, which contains about eight to ten percent thorium.</p><p>Even as KSEB earlier mooted the nuclear power plant at Cheemeni in Kasargod, it faced stiff resistance from various quarters citing the safety concerns. Hence the KSEB is exploring the option of thorium based plants. Unlike uranium, which is conventionally used as fuel by nuclear power plants, thorium is considered to be less hazardous.</p>
<p>Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala is gearing up to explore the options of setting up a thorium-based power plant by making use of the rich thorium deposits in the state's coastal areas.</p><p>In a bid to avoid public resistance, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government is initiating public discussions and collecting public feedback about the plans.</p>.Thorium based reactors to be ready in a decade.<p>Kerala electricity minister K Krishnankutty said on Monday that the state's coastal area got rich thorium deposits that could help to produce cheap and clean fuel to meet the demands for more than 200 years. The state could even become self-sufficient in power generation with thorium plants.</p><p>Top officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) already visited a reactor set up by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and held discussions on the possibility of setting up a reactor in Kerala. The details of the plan would be released after getting a nod from the state cabinet. A policy decision of the ruling front might be required on the matter.</p><p>According to BARC, even as the country has only limited resources of uranium, it has large thorium resources especially in Kerala and Odisha. The beach sands of Kerala and Orissa have rich reserves of monazite, which contains about eight to ten percent thorium.</p><p>Even as KSEB earlier mooted the nuclear power plant at Cheemeni in Kasargod, it faced stiff resistance from various quarters citing the safety concerns. Hence the KSEB is exploring the option of thorium based plants. Unlike uranium, which is conventionally used as fuel by nuclear power plants, thorium is considered to be less hazardous.</p>