India’s NTPC, the country’s largest power utility, is looking for partners to help it build 15 GW of new nuclear capacity, Reuters has reported, citing tender documents.
Partnering with a foreign company was made possible by recent amendments to Indian nuclear energy legislation that previously did not allow for foreign investment in Indian nuclear energy or participation in the construction of nuclear power capacity.
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There are two laws that have made it impossible for non-Indian—and private—companies to take part in the subcontinent’s nuclear industry. One was the Atomic Energy Act from 1962, which does not allow private investment in nuclear energy. The other was the much more recent Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act from 2010, which blocked foreign company participation in Indian nuclear energy.
The amendments were made with a view to India making progress on its energy transition plans that, like pretty much everywhere else, would require a solid boost in nuclear generation capacity, since nuclear offers electricity that is both emission-free and also reliable, rather than weather-dependent.
India has some 8 GW in nuclear capacity right now, so the planned 15 GW will be a significant increase on that. Plans are to have the total rise to 20 GW by 2032 and further to 100 GW by 2047. NTPC alone wants to build 30 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2045. This is going to cost an estimated $62 billion, according to an earlier Reuters report. Currently, the country’s largest power utility operates mostly coal-fired power plants.
India has set itself a target to have 500 GW of non-hydrocarbon generation capacity by 2030 as it seeks to diversify away from oil and gas. Still, nuclear will remain instrumental for its transition plans—and possibly plans to reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas, which is rather substantial.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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