By Mrinalika Roy
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Top Indian power producer NTPC is in talks with foreign firms including those from Russia and the U.S. for construction of small nuclear reactors, a top executive said on Thursday.
Talks for these small modular reactors (SMR) – which have simpler designs than traditional large nuclear plants and can be scaled up to meet demand – come days after the country decided to allow private investments in the sector.
“We have spoken to a Russian company that has an operating small modular reactor, and several other firms like U.S.’ Holtec International Corp have also approached us,” said Prasenjit Pal, executive director and head of nuclear wing at NTPC.
Pal did not identify the Russian company and other U.S. companies, while Holtec did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
NTPC has sought government permission to take forward the discussions, Pal said, but added that no country apart from China and Russia has operating SMR systems.
The company would start construction of its first nuclear power project of 2.8 gigawatts (GW) at Mahi Banswara in the desert Rajasthan in 3-5 months, Pal said.
India has about 8 GW of nuclear capacity and aims to raise it to 20 GW by 2032 and at least 100 GW by 2047 to cut its carbon footprint.
A change in Indian laws to open its much-guarded nuclear energy sector is going to boost private investments, Sama Bilbao y León, director general of World Nuclear Association, told Reuters on the sidelines of the India Energy Week.
Strict liabilities imposed by India under a 2010 law for compensation to nuclear accident victims have hampered implementation of the country’s nuclear deal with the U.S., and with it, participation of U.S. power plant makers such as General Electric and Westinghouse.
(Additional reporting by Sethuraman NR; Editing by Leroy Leo)
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