Kazakhstan wants India to build nuclear plants

Published: Friday, Apr 15, 2011, 20:01 IST
Place: Astana | Agency: PTI

As part of enhanced cooperation in civil nuclear field, Kazakhstan wants India to build small reactors in this country and it has been agreed that a feasibility study would be conducted in this regard.

Discussions on furthering civil nuclear cooperation will be high on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who arrived here this evening for a two-day visit during which the two sides are expected to sign an inter-governmental pact in the field.

The two sides will also be looking at ways to step up cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector when Singh and President Nursultan Nazarbaev hold talks tomorrow after which a pact is expected to be signed wherein ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) would acquire 25% stake in Satpayev oil block in the Caspian Sea.

India views the visit crucial in political and economic terms considering that Kazakhstan, a key Central Asian country, has been a supporter and a reliable partner, sources said as Singh arrived here from Sanya in China on the second-leg of his two-nation tour.

Talking about energy cooperation, the sources noted that Kazakhstan has been supplying uranium to India after an MoU was signed in January 2009.

Kazakhstan has shown interest in India building small nuclear reactors of the capacity of 230 MW in this country and a feasibility study would be conducted in this regard, the sources said.

At tomorrow's meeting, the two leaders are also expected to discuss the possibility of joint mining of uranium in Kazakhstan, which is known to have one of the largest reserves of the nuclear fuel.

There have been reports that Kazakhstan could consider exporting processed uranium to India, which is welcome for New Delhi as it would mean lesser freight in terms of quantity.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report...plants_1532301

Who is gonna fund it? Are they gonna pay us or will it be a charity?

What sort of Nuclear Reactors can we build by our self? Dont we our self use Russian aid to build the Reactors in Tamil Nadu?

http://www.aabc.co.in/india/212-afro...-reactors.html

India believes that small size nuclear reactors are apt for countries that have small grids, of around 10,000 MW. Use of large reactor units in case of countries having small grids could potentially lead to grid failures if even a single large unit shuts down at any point in time. Besides, assembling clusters of 220 MW (or similar small sized) reactors is projected to be more cost-effective than largesized reactors from the US or Europe.

India has almost exclusive expertise in building and operating small-size nuclear reactors ideal for countries making an initial entry into nuclear power. Currently, India is perhaps the only country to have actively working technology, design and infrastructure for the manufacture of small reactors with a unit capacity of 220 MW.

India also has built fast breeder and thorium reactor prototypes.

That's great because they will be produced by an NPC/Areva consortium with France providing all the supplies and expertise. It really is a great opportunity as India gets to team up with the biggest nuclear supplier in the world who focuses on large generation while France gets its hands into Indian markets with their smaller reactors... win-win

http://www.business-standard.com/ind...actors/417645/

Best part is that the pigheaded Australia will have to rethink it's anti-India stance, we will tell them that if they don't want to sell the yellow cake, its alright, we are not going to beg. Kazakhstan and Mongolia can feed our needs for hundred years. We already have good friends like France and Russia who are willing to help us with technology and equipments.

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfee...re/649699.html

Among other prominent topics of discussion would be stepped up cooperation in hydrocarbon sector, like Indian involvement in downstream projects in Kazakhstan. Cooperation in fertilisers is also expected to figure in the talks, the sources said. While both India and Kazakshtan have been keen to forge closer cooperation, physical connectivity has been an issue which they are working to develop. In this regard, a railway network is proposed to be built between Kazakhstan and India via Iran. Another route being explored is that of China. There could be discussions with regard to the proposed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline which Kazakhstan is keen to join. The pipeline is intended to carry gas from Turkmenistan and India could benefit by getting it at its doorstep. India feels that the project is feasible technically.There are questions with regard to safety and security of the pipeline as it will pass through Afghanistan and some parts of Pakistan but sources said India does not see it as an issue as such projects have survived conflicts in places like Congo and Israel. The main issue will be the quantity of gas available in Turkmenistan, the sources said. India is convinced that it will have to hedge the maximum sources of energy, including TAPI, as the dependence on West Asia is as high as 67 per cent. With regard to the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline, India maintains that it has not been shelved but two issues remained to be addressed which relate to assured supply and physical security of the pipeline which will pass through restive Balochistan province of Pakistan. The sources insisted that the US had never told India not to go ahead with the project although there have been statements in the public.

once our Thorium based reactor design and technology matures we will be able to grab a large chunk of nuclear market . It will add to our geopolitical clout as well. Australia your ban on sale of Uranium wont hurt us for very long.

The Thorium reactor is only an experimental reactor i guess, although i remember reading some where that we are building an large working prototype? Anything you have heard?

Amit they are not anti-India, its just that they only supply to CTBT signatory countries.

http://bellona.no/bellona.org/englis...peration/31261
India to build prototype thorium reactor

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/K...s/message/2629

I find the thorium breed reactors to be a losing proposition. Uranium reserves are like 10m tonnes while thorium is only 1m, and you have to use uranium to make the thorium reactor. India will still have to import a sizable amount of uranium and its 300k tonnes won't last the lifespan of a nuclear reactor if they exploit it like they are saying. Commercial viability is what it is all about and it just isn't there.

India has the 2nd biggest thorium reserve in the world(IAEA now claims India to have the highest); 2/3 of the monozite deposits that contain thorium in the world are in India. Uranium will still be used but in limited quantities. Fast breeders output maybe 3-10X a normal reactor. Thorium is less radioactive and has a shorter half life than uranium and produces much less waste.

http://www.thoriumsingapore.com/cont...d=48&Itemid=34
The IAEA also states that recent reports have upgraded India's thorium deposits up from approximately 300,000 metric tonnes to 650,000 metric tonnes

Your source states India has 300k tonnes on an IAEA report and then someone added 650k with IAEA source in wiki. Tracking back the search in the source from IAEA, it says India has 300k so that 650k is made up. Here is the source they cite on page 45.... nothing but the original numbers.

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publica...E_1450_web.pdf