'India's nuclear capacity to be increased to 17,080 Mw by 2022'

Nuclear experts bat for quick resolution of Liability issue

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) on Tuesday said that  nuclear capacity through indigenous reactors and reactors with international cooperation would be increased to 17,080 Mw by 2022, from the present level of 5,780 Mw.

DAE and NPC officials were commenting in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on Monday. During his meeting with scientists at BARC, Modi had exhorted them to increase India’s nuclear capacity three times from the present level of 5,780 Mw by 2023-24, within the projected cost.

The list of projects include Kakrapar 3&4 (2x700 Mw) in Gujarat, Rajasthan 7&8 (2x700 Mw), Kudankulam unit II (1,000 Mw) in Tamil Nadu, Kalpakkam (500 Mw), again in Tamil Nadu, Haryana (2x700 MW), Rajasthan (2x700 Mw), two separate sites in Madhya Pradesh (4x700 Mw) and Kaiga 5& 6 (2x700 Mw) in Karnataka. These projects are under various stages of development. Incidentally, DAE and NPC are not taking into account, reactors with international cooperation proposed at Jaitapur in Maharashtra (2x1650 Mw), Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh (2x1,500 Mw) and Mithi Virdi in Gujarat (2x1,100 Mw). Negotiations between NPC and foreign suppliers for these reactors are currently going on.

“The capacity addition of 10,000 Mw by NPC and 500 Mw by Bhavini (a Government of India undertaking producing nuclear power) through indigenous reactors and reactors with international cooperation is underway. By these reactors alone, capacity will be increased to 17,080 Mw by 2022. The Kudankulam unit I (1,000 Mw) has already been commissioned and in the next six months, unit II (1,000 Mw) is expected to go on steam,” DAE spokesman S K Malhotra told Business Standard.

However, he said issues relating to liability law, which are applicable to Indian equipment suppliers, were being addressed.

NPC’s former distinguished scientist S Thakur said that the challenge was to discover an economic model and amicable solutions on other issues including liability.

However, he claimed that augmentation of nuclear capacity both, through indigenous and collaboration with foreign partners, was possible.

GD  Mittal, BARC's former scientist said as far as funds were concerned, it was possible to mobilise them either through bonds or private participation. “Our nuclear engineers and scientists are capable of achieving the target with government support,” he noted.