The “power-hungry” India needs clean energy and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu is waiting to add 2,000 MW to the grid, the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said on Monday.
“As an individual, I went to the [Kudankulam] plant. Really it is a modern plant, and there is 2,000 MW ready to be pumped into the grid,” he told journalists on the sidelines of a programme at the Indian Institute of Management here.
Pointing out that the total CO{-2} emission across the country by cars running on fossil fuel was 30 billion tons a year, Mr. Kalam said: “So we need only clean energy. Solar power is clean energy, nuclear power is clean energy and hydel power is clean energy.”
Asked whether he was going to talk to those who have been protesting against the plant, Mr. Kalam said he had met a lot of people and was open to discussion with anyone. “Whoever wants to talk to me can meet me.”
After visiting the Kudankulam plant on November 6 amid protests by villagers, Mr. Kalam said he was “completely satisfied and happy with the sophisticated safety features of the reactors.” Again, he reiterated his contention to dispel fears over the safety. “Of course, I am confident of the safety,” he said, adding that he had cited the technical reasons earlier.
