By Sethuraman N R
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom and France’s EDF are positioning large nuclear power plants (NPPs) as the cornerstone of their engagement with India, even as they explore small modular reactors for targeted applications.
India is seeking to expand its nuclear power generation capacity to at least 100 gigawatts by 2047, up from just over 8 gigawatts currently. In April, Reuters reported that India was relaxing rules to allow foreign entities to hold minority stakes in nuclear power projects.
Rosatom is discussing a wide range of energy solutions with Indian partners, including both large-scale NPPs and small modular reactors (SMRs).
“Given the scale and dynamics of the Indian energy system, we consider large NPPs to represent the most strategic and promising avenue for further development of our dialogue in this area,” Katerina Astashina, South Asia Lead, Rosatom, told a panel discussion on Tuesday at the Powergen India event in New Delhi.
EDF, which is proposing six 1,650 MW reactors for the Jaitapur site in Maharashtra, emphasized the importance of maximizing available sites.
“When there is a shortage of suitable sites for nuclear reactors, it is always advisable to go for bigger capacity reactors, so that we make optimum use of the sites,” Kalirajan S, managing director, EDF Nuclear Projects India, said.
“SMRs will also be playing a part in captive power plants for small players who want to set up a supporting power system for data centers … But reaching 100 gigawatts, probably the 1650 megawatt reactors will help us to move faster,” the EDF official added.
India’s nuclear power generation of just over 8 gigawatts, accounts for about 3% of its total installed electricity capacity.
Meanwhile, India’s top coal power plant operator NTPC will look at bringing multiple technologies available across the world to ensure the cost of energy delivered is the lowest, said Prasenjit Pal, executive director, nuclear at NTPC.
NTPC is looking to build 30 GW of nuclear power capacity over the next two decades.
(Reporting by Sethuraman NR, Editing by William Maclean)
