20 nuclear reactors planned

To come up during the 12th Plan period with an estimated investment of over Rs 3 lakh crore

The Indian nuclear energy establishment is gearing up to start work on 20 nuclear reactors with an estimated investment of over Rs 3 lakh crore during the 12th Plan period.

“Time has come to think of new processes and of tackling new challenges. I am not saying that the present systems are not safe. There is a necessity now to do this in the country to restore the confidence of people in the safety of the technology,” Srikumar Banerjee, chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, and secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, said here on Monday.

While terming the concerns raised against the Kudankulam project as completely baseless, Banerjee, however, asked the scientific community to work in terms of testing the behaviour of metals, fuels and water in extreme conditions taking into account the genuine concerns of the community. He also wanted the scientific community to undertake alternative concepts, including futuristic cold-fuel technology that were discarded after the success of light-water reactor technology.

 

“We cannot stop eating for fear of chocking,” he said, adding the nuclear energy had also emerged as the most cost-effective source of power with the cost of power from coal-fired thermal stations moving up steeply from 2010-11. The cost of imported coal would go up unimaginably and become unbearable to the country’s economy five years down the line, he said on the sidelines of an international seminar on nuclear fuels.

The launch of Kudankulam project has come to a standstill with just 40 people working in two shifts, whereas it needs at least 500 people to complete the peripheral work before the commencement of fuel loading. When asked about the status on their communication with the state authorities, Banerjee said they had not yet received any reply from the state government.

According to SK Jain, chairman and managing director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), work on the new reactors, both with indigenous technologies as well as with foreign collaborations, is well on course. The company is planning to establish 10 units of 700-Mw reactors with indigenous technology and 10 more with foreign collaboration.

The company has narrowed down on 10 foreign banks and financial institutions in addition to a host of Indian institutions for raising the debt for the implementation of these projects, he said.

It plans to raise the equity from its own resources and from the joint ventures that were already entered into or it is entering with NTPC, Nalco, Indian Oil Corporation and ONGC, according to him.

The company has already signed an MoU with the Power Finance Corporation and is in discussions with the Life Insurance Corporation of India in this regard.