Tata Power, one of India’s biggest integrated power utilities, plans to build its first nuclear power plant by 2032 as the country opens the civil nuclear sector to private companies, CEO Praveer Sinha told Bloomberg Television in an interview on Tuesday.
“What we can expect is that early part of 2028 we will start possibly the construction activity,” Sinha told Bloomberg.
“We are targeting that 2032-2033, we will have the first of the nuclear plants ready in the private sector,” the executive added.
Tata Power, which has expressed interest in building nuclear power plants in India, has already shortlisted several potential sites in at least three Indian states, Sinha said.
India’s goal is to boost its installed nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2047, up from just 8.8 GW now. This would require as much as 19.28 trillion Indian rupees, or $201 billion at current exchange rates, of cumulative capital, a panel set up by India’s power ministry said in the ‘roadmap to 100 GW’ report last year.
At the end of 2025, India’s government approved the landmark Atomic Energy Bill, which allows private companies to invest in its nuclear energy industry for the first time, as the country looks to boost nuclear power capacity tenfold within two decades.
The so-called SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing of Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Act could drive huge investments from private companies in India’s nuclear energy sector.
Yet, Indian state-owned NTPC Ltd, the biggest utility in the country, is expected to account for 30% of the new nuclear power capacity installations by 2047.
NTPC, currently the only nuclear power generator in India, is now looking to acquire stakes in uranium assets globally to secure fuel for the expected massive expansion of India’s nuclear power capacity.
India also expects to build domestically five small modular reactors (SMRs) by 2033, India’s Atomic Energy Minister, Jitendra Singh, said last week.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
- Red Sea Tanker Traffic Hits Multi-Month Low as Houthi Threat Holds
- Escalating Protests in Libya Threaten Oil and Gas Supply
- Economists Cut India’s GDP Growth Forecast on Oil Price Shock
