India’s Nuclear Industry Generates Heat from Uranium Reserves to Fuel Recycling

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). India is moving ”very aggressively on uranium” Anil Kakodkar, the country’s Atomic Energy Commission secretary said. New reserves are being looked at with the target of doubling total reserves over the next five years. Exploration would use technology developed by the Bhaba Atomic Research Center.

Kakodkar went on to say that India’s confirmed uranium reserve is currently 78,000 tons and 100,000 tons is required in the near future to sustain growth of the country’s nuclear projects. The country’s first fast breeder reactor would be ready in 2011, he said. Despite objections by the U.S., reactor fuel recycling cuts down wastes to a negligible level and enables up to 80 times the energy generation out of the same fuel. Kakodkar said that he was expecting the U.S. to agree to fuel recycling and added that the July 2006 agreement said that the matter could be negotiated.

Laying the foundation stone for a 1,200 MW thermal power project in the northern state of Haryana, India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, said that a project to set up a nuclear power plant in Hisar, Haryana to assist in overcoming the state’s chronic power shortage had full government support and implied that a nuclear deal with the U.S. was near. He said that he was convening a meeting of all chief ministers in June to overcome the power shortage in a planned manner.

In August 2006, the Prime Minister said that 40,000 MW of nuclear power could be generated in India within ten years but the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) says that supply chain constraints make this target too tough to achieve and 30,000 MW by 2020 is more realistic.

NPICL says funding for nuclear projects is not a problem as they are sitting on reserves of $2.7 billion and anticipate continued profits through 2020 at least at the level of $383 million per annum achieved for the year ended March 2007. In addition, they anticipate being able to raise up to $15 billion from financial institutions without having to seek funding from the government. NPICL is currently responsible for 4,120 MW of nuclear power representing about 3% of the national power output and has a monopoly on plant construction. NPCIL is reported to be in the process of identifying three or four coastal sites where plants would be built with imported reactors. Informal meetings have been held with GE, Areva and Westinghouse. Independent companies already in the power and energy market, are shaping for a share of the new plant construction program, hence NPCIL’s expression of financial independence.

The nuclear power station building program has hit delays for the two 1,000 MW units at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu. Due for commissioning at the end of this year, it now may take until early 2009 to complete construction. Delays in the supply of crucial equipment from Russia are blamed on that country’s nuclear industry reorganization of its nuclear supply chain into Atomenergyoprom. The pressure vessel of one of the reactors was installed early this year, but other crucial pieces of equipment have not been delivered.

NPCIL is trying to light a fire under the Russian suppliers for speedier delivery. This has nothing to do with the fire that broke out in mid-May at Russia’s Atommash plant in Volgdonsk where nuclear power turbines and non-radioactive products are manufactured.

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