Go-Ahead Given to 9,900-Megawatt Jaitapur Nuclear Plant, but Opposition Continues

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Indian government approved setting up a six-unit nuclear power complex in Jaitapur, Maharashtra. Planning is taking place for the first two of 9,900-megawatt (MW) reactor units to be supplied by Areva S.A. (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France). Upon completion, the complex will be the largest single nuclear power site in the world.

Opposition to the project has stiffened after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, and this has included criticism of the choice of Areva's pressurized water (EPR) reactors, which are said to be an improvement on previous technologies but have experienced problems during the current project. Nuclear plants being constructed using the EPR reactor technology have been delayed for several years after the initial design failed to meet safety criteria, and the Finnish project is also notoriously over budget. Areva is also building two EPR reactors in China.

The majority of India's reactors have been locally developed, but two reactors are under construction with Russian assistance and technology. Projects using technology from the U.S. and Japan also are planned.

India receives about 3% of its total electrical power supply from nuclear plants using relatively small reactors. In all, five new reactors are under construction and proposals have been made for a further 39 nuclear plants. The government has a target of 25% of power requirements to come from nuclear by 2050.

The government has taken 2,300 acres of land for the Jaitapur plant site, but only 153 of the more than 2,000 local landowners have taken the compensation money that has been offered, which is about $27,000 per hectare, as a form of protest against the project.

Opponents note that the area was hit by 95 earthquakes from 1985 to 2005. Government officials countered by saying that most were minor quakes, and the plant's location on a high cliff would offer protection against tsunamis.

Local farmers say that export customers have indicated that fear of radioactive contamination will prevent them from buying the area's prized mangoes. Fishermen say that the hot water discharge will make the coast uninhabitable for mackerel and other fish, and ruin the livelihoods of 20,000 people.

The pro-nuclear project lobby has some powerful champions who have denied the negative arguments. They are driven by the government's need to meet the power requirements of the quickly developing state.

Although approval for the project has been given, the battle between those who support the project and those who don't is set to continue.

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