India to source uranium from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Nigeria

India is planning to source uranium from countries such as Kazakhstan and  Uzbekistan to fuel its nuclear power plants which are running at about half of their capacity due to non-availability of nuclear fuel.

"We are working out (uranium) supply arrangements with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Nigeria. We are also planning to carry out joint mining and
exploration initiatives with Mongolia,” said Shyam Saran, special envoy to Prime Minister on Indo-US nuclear deal. Saran was speaking at an interaction organised by FICCI on Civil Nuclear issue.

Last month, the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) had given its nod to the India-specific waiver to drop a ban on trade. According to Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), India will meet its planned target of about 20,000 Mw of nuclear power by 2020.

However, short supply of nuclear fuel has been a major constraint for the ambitious capacity power generation plans from India’s nuclear power
plants. NPCIL, the biggest utility in India for carrying out nuclear power generation, had earlier said that its reactors with a capacity of 3700 Mw
were being operated at reduced power levels at almost 50-55 per cent plant load factor (PLF) to match the fuel supply for nuclear reactors using
indigenously produced uranium.

Saran also added that the current global financial turmoil will lead to a slowdown in the global nuclear power market and bring down Uranium prices which will help India expanding its civil nuclear energy programme by procuring nuclear fuel and power generation technology  at better rates. “The current financial crisis can be a blessing in disguise. We can see a buyers’ market in nuclear soon,” he said.