India’s Nuclear Plans Involve Investment of $13.6 Billion in Domestic Technology

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). The announcement that the Indian government has given the go ahead for the construction of two nuclear power plants in Rawatbhata, Rajasthan and Kakrapar, Gujurat, comes at a time when the country is looking to commercialize its nuclear expertise on a large scale and become a player in the global, nuclear plant-bidding competition.

The new nuclear plants will each have a generating capacity of 2,800 megawatts provided by four heavy water reactors each with a 700-megawatt (MW) capacity. The government is investing $390 million initially on the equipment with long delivery lead times such as steam generators and turbines for the four reactors. The four reactors will require an estimated investment of $380 million, which represents about 9% of the estimated project completion cost of $4.25 billion. The initial cost will be borne by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL). It has been proposed that equipment for the project should be purchased from domestic manufacturers. The two projects are being planned in line with the Department of Atomic Energy’s Vision 2020 program, whereby nuclear power capacity is targeted for a 20,000 MW boost.

The NPICL is working on a plan to set up 10,000 megawatts of new nuclear capacity based on imported uranium which will flow when the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal is finalized. NPICL is planning an investment in the sector of $13.6 billion over the next five to ten years. New plants would be located on the coast to facilitate the importation of fuel.

NPCIL currently produces 3,900 megawatts of power and is planning to add another 5,600 megawatts of nuclear capacity based on domestic uranium supplies, reports the Economic Times. An additional 3,000 megawatts of capacity now under construction is expected to be operational in the next two years.

India has increased efforts with the NSG (Nuclear Suppliers Group) to allow it access to civil nuclear technology and fuel, and it could also become a supplier of low-cost nuclear reactors to other countries through membership of the NSG. Members of India’s nuclear sector are currently flushed with success as the Kaiga 3 nuclear reactor in Karnataka, developed by Indian engineers, went critical in the first week of March. The 220 MW pressurized heavy water reactor will start delivering power at the end of the month.

Kaiga 3 can deliver power for $22.33 per installed kW which gives a competitive platform to export the reactor design to countries like Cambodia and Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam at a rate of $27.24 per kW, which is dramatically less than the international average of $1,500 per kW, a senior official with NPICL told the Indian News Service.

India is looking to the U.S. and Russia to smooth its way into the NSG, bearing in mind that it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. A diplomatic charm offensive has been undertaken with Japan, Sweden and Norway, and if India can win Japan’s backing as a member of the 45-nation NSG, then the Scandinavian countries could follow suit.

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