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- India has a flourishing and largely indigenous nuclear power programme and expects to have 14.6 GWe nuclear capacity on line by 2024 and 63 GWe by 2032. It aims to supply 25% of electricity from nuclear power by 2050.
- Because India is outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty due to its weapons programme, it was for 34 years largely excluded from trade in nuclear plant or materials, which has hampered its development of civil nuclear energy until 2009.
- Due to earlier trade bans and lack of indigenous uranium, India has uniquely been developing a nuclear fuel cycle to exploit its reserves of thorium.
- Since 2010, a fundamental incompatibility between India’s civil liability law and international conventions limits foreign technology provision.
- India has a vision of becoming a world leader in nuclear technology due to its expertise in fast reactors and thorium fuel cycle.
India’s primary energy consumption more than doubled between 1990 and 2011 to nearly 25,000 PJ. India's dependence on imported energy resources and the inconsistent reform of the energy sector are challenges to satisfying rising demand.
The 2015 edition of BP’s
Energy Outlook projected India’s energy production rising by 117% to 2035, while consumption grows by 128%. The country’s energy mix evolves very slowly over the next 22 years with fossil fuels accounting for 87% of demand in 2035, compared with a global average of 81% (down from 92% today). Oil remains the dominant fuel (36%) followed by gas (30%) and coal (21%). CO2 emissions from energy consumption increase by 115%.
Electricity demand in India is increasing rapidly, and the 1287 TWh gross produced in 2014 was more than triple the 1990 output, though still represented only some 1000 kWh per capita for the year. With large transmission losses – 250 TWh (19.4%) in 2014 – this resulted in only about 947 TWh consumption. Overall transmission and distribution losses have been put at 26% by the Power Engineers Society. Gross generation in 2014 comprised 850 TWh from black coal, 36 TWh from brown coal, 63 TWh from gas, 23 TWh from oil, 36 TWh from nuclear, 132 TWh from hydro and 67 TWh from other renewables. There was net import of 5 TWh. Coal provides almost three-quarters of the electricity at present, but reserves are effectively limited* – in 2013, 159 million tonnes was imported, and 533 million tonnes produced domestically.
* Quoted resources are 293 billion tonnes, but much of this is in forested areas of eastern India – Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal. While the first three of these are the main producing states, nevertheless permission to mine is problematical and infrastructure limited.
The per capita electricity consumption figure – 1000 kWh/yr in 2014 – is expected to double by 2020, with 6.3% annual growth, and reach 5000-6000 kWh/yr by 2050, requiring about 8000 TWh/yr then. There is an acute demand for more reliable power supplies. One-third of the population is not connected to any grid, and in 2013, 19% was without any electricity.
Early in 2016 India had 300 GWe installed capacity, 210 GWe being fossil fuel-fired. There was 40 GWe of large hydro, 43 GWe of other renewables and less than 7 GWe of nuclear. The government's 12th five-year plan for 2012-17 targeted the addition of 94 GWe over the period, costing $247 billion. Three-quarters of this would be coal- or lignite-fired, and only 3.4 GWe nuclear, including two imported 1000 MWe units planned at one site and two indigenous 700 MWe units at another. By 2032 total installed capacity of 700 GWe is planned to meet 7-9% GDP growth, and this was to include 63 GWe nuclear. The OECD’s International Energy Agency predicts that India will need some $1600 billion investment in power generation, transmission and distribution to 2035.
Kudankulam nuclear power plant, one of India's newest
India has five electricity grids – Northern, Eastern, North-Eastern, Southern and Western. All of them are interconnected to some extent, except the Southern grid. All are run by the state-owned Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCI), which operates more than 95,000 circuit km of transmission lines. In July 2012 the Northern grid failed with 35,669 MWe load in the early morning, and the following day it plus parts of two other grids failed again so that over 600 million people in 22 states were without power for up to a day.
A KPMG report in 2007 said that transmission and distribution (T&D) losses were worth more than $6 billion per year. A 2012 report costed the losses as $12.6 billion per year. A 2010 estimate shows big differences among states, with some very high, and a national average of 27% T&D loss, well above the target 15% set in 2001 when the average figure was 34%. Much of this was sttibuted to theft. Installed transmission capacity was only about 13% of generation capacity.
Since about 2010 India has made capacity additions and efficiency upgrades to its transmission grid to reduce technical losses getting power to load centres. In 2009, the National Load Dispatch Centre began supervising regional load dispatch centres, scheduling and dispatching electricity, and monitoring operations of the national grid. By the end of 2013, the country's five regional grids were interconnected for synchronous operation with greater efficiency. India has also more than doubled the extent and capacity of high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) lines since 2002, with fewer losses over long distances than AC lines.
India’s priority is economic growth and to alleviate poverty. The importance of coal means that CO2 emission reduction is not a high priority, and the government has declined to set targets ahead of the 21st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change to be held in Paris in 2015. The environment minister in September 2014 said it would be 30 years before India would be likely to see a decrease in CO2 emissions.
Nuclear power
NPCIL supplied 35 TWh of India's electricity in 2013-14 from 5.3 GWe nuclear capacity, with overall capacity factor of 83% and availability of 88%. Some 410 reactor-years of operation had been achieved to December 2014. India's fuel situation, with shortage of fossil fuels, is driving the nuclear investment for electricity, and 25% nuclear contribution is the ambition for 2050, when 1094 GWe of base-load capacity is expected to be required. Almost as much investment in the grid system as in power plants is necessary.
The target since about 2004 was for nuclear power to provide 20 GWe by 2020, but in 2007 the Prime Minister referred to this as "modest" and capable of being "doubled with the opening up of international cooperation." However, it is evident that even the 20 GWe target would require substantial uranium imports and acceleration of nuclear power plant construction. In June 2009 NPCIL said it aimed for 60 GWe nuclear by 2032, including 40 GWe of PWR capacity and 7 GWe of new PHWR capacity, all fuelled by imported uranium. This 2032 target was reiterated late in 2010 and increased to 63 GWe in 2011. But in December 2011 parliament was told that more realistic targets were 14,600 MWe by 2020-21 and 27,500 MWe by 2032, relative to then 4780 MWe and 10,080 MWe when reactors under construction were on line in 2017.*
* “the XII Plan [2012-17] proposals ..... envisage start of work on eight indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), two 500 MW fast breeder reactors (FBRs), one 300 MW advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) and eight light water reactors of 1000 MW or higher capacity with foreign technical cooperation. These nuclear power reactors are expected to be completed progressively in the XIII and XIV Plans.”
The 16 PHWRS and LWRs are expected to cost $40 billion. The eight 700 MWe PHWRs would be built at Kaiga in Karnataka, Gorakhpur in Haryana’s Fatehabad District, Banswada in Rajasthan, and Chutka
in Madhya Pradesh.
In July 2014 the new Prime Minister urged DAE to triple the nuclear capacity to 17 GWe by 2024. He praised “India's self-reliance in the nuclear fuel cycle and the commercial success of the indigenous reactors.” He also emphasized the importance of maintaining the commercial viability and competitiveness of nuclear energy compared with other clean energy sources. In March 2017 parliament was told that the 14.6 GWe target of nuclear capacity by 2024 was maintained, relative to 6.7 GWe (gross) grid-connected then.
After the 2010 liability legislation started to deter foreign reactor vendors, early in 2012 the government said it wanted to see coal production increase by 150 Mt/yr (from 440 Mt/yr) to support 60 GWe new coal-fired capacity to be built by 2015. This would involve Rs 56 billion new investment in rail infrastructure.
Longer term, the Atomic Energy Commission however envisages some 500 GWe nuclear on line by 2060, and has since speculated that the amount might be higher still: 600-700 GWe by 2050, providing half of all electricity. Another projection is for nuclear share to rise to 9% by 2037. In November 2015 NPCIL was talking of 14.5 GWe by 2024 as a target.
Other energy information for India:
US Energy Information Administration Analysis Brief on India
Indian nuclear power industry development
Nuclear power for civil use is well established in India. Since building the two small boiling water reactors at Tarapur in the 1960s, its civil nuclear strategy has been directed towards complete independence in the nuclear fuel cycle, necessary because it is excluded from the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) due to it acquiring nuclear weapons capability after 1970. (Those five countries doing so before 1970 were accorded the status of Nuclear Weapons States under the NPT.)
As a result, India's nuclear power program has proceeded largely without fuel or technological assistance from other countries (but see later section). The pressurised heavy-water reactor (PHWR) design was adopted in 1964, since it required less natural uranium than the BWRs, needed no enrichment, and could be built with the country’s engineering capacity at that time – pressure tubes rather than a heavy pressure vessel being involved. Its power reactors to the mid-1990s had some of the world's lowest capacity factors, reflecting the technical difficulties of the country's isolation, but rose impressively from 60% in 1995 to 85% in 2001-02. Then in 2008-10 the load factors dropped due to shortage of uranium fuel.
India's nuclear energy self-sufficiency extended from uranium exploration and mining through fuel fabrication, heavy water production, reactor design and construction, to reprocessing and waste management. It has a small fast breeder reactor and is building a much larger one. It is also developing technology to utilise its abundant resources of thorium as a nuclear fuel.
The Atomic Energy Establishment was set up at Trombay, near Mumbai, in 1957 and renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) ten years later. Plans for building the first Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) were finalised in 1964, and this prototype – Rajasthan 1, which had Canada's Douglas Point reactor as a reference unit, was built as a collaborative venture between Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) and NPCIL. It started up in 1972 and was duplicated Subsequent indigenous PHWR development has been based on these units, though several stages of evolution can be identified: PHWRs with dousing and single containment at Rajasthan 1-2, PHWRs with suppression pool and partial double containment at Madras, and later standardized PHWRs from Narora onwards having double containment, suppression pool, and calandria filled with heavy water, housed in a water-filled calandria vault.
The Indian Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is the main policy body.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is responsible for design, construction, commissioning and operation of thermal nuclear power plants. At the start of 2010 it said it had enough cash on hand for 10,000 MWe of new plant. Its funding model is 70% equity and 30% debt financing. However, it is aiming to involve other public sector and private corporations in future nuclear power expansion, notably National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) – see subsection below. NTPC is very much larger than NPCIL and sees itself as the main power producer. NTPC is largely government-owned. The 1962 Atomic Energy Act prohibits private control of nuclear power generation, and 2016 amendments allowing public sector joint ventures do not extend to private sector companies, nor allow direct foreign investment in nuclear power, apart from the supply chain.
India's operating nuclear power reactors
Reactor State Type MWe net (each) Commercial operation Safeguards status*
Tarapur 1&2 Maharashtra GE BWR 150 1969 Item-specific, Oct 2009
Kaiga 1&2 Karnataka PHWR 202 1999, 2000 nil
Kaiga 3&4 Karnataka PHWR 202 2007, 2012 nil
Kakrapar 1&2 Gujarat PHWR 202 1993, 1995 December 2010 under new agreement
Madras 1&2 (MAPS) Tamil Nadu PHWR 202 1984, 1986 nil
Narora 1&2 Uttar Pradesh PHWR 202 1991, 1992 From Jan 2015 under new agreement
Rajasthan 1&2 Rajasthan Candu PHWR 90, 187 1973, 1981 Item-specific, Oct 2009
Rajasthan 3&4 Rajasthan PHWR 202 1999, 2000 March 2010 under new agreement
Rajasthan 5&6 Rajasthan PHWR 202 Feb & April 2010 Oct 2009 under new agreement
Tarapur 3&4 Maharashtra PHWR 490 2006, 2005 nil
Kudankulam 1&2 Tamil Nadu PWR (VVER) 917 December 2014, April 2017 Item-specific, Oct 2009
Total (22) 6219 MWe
Madras (MAPS) also known as Kalpakkam
Rajasthan/RAPS is located at Rawatbhata and sometimes called that
Kaiga = KGS, Kakrapar = KAPS, Narora = NAPS
* The safeguarded units to February 2015 are listed in the Annex 7 to
India’s safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
Tarapur 1&2 and Rajasthan 1&2 have INFCIRC/66 type, the others INFCIRC/754 type.
The eight reactors not under IAEA safeguards all use indigenously-sourced uranium.
Nuclear reactors deployed in India
In December 2014 the 40% of nuclear capacity under safeguards was operating on imported uranium at rated capacity. The remainder, which relies on indigenous uranium, was operating below capacity, though the supply situation was said to be improving.
The two Tarapur 150 MWe boiling water reactors (BWRs) built by GE on a turnkey contract before the advent of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty were originally 200 MWe. They were downrated due to recurrent problems but have run reasonably well since. They have been using imported enriched uranium (from France and China in 1980-90s and Russia since 2001) and are under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. However, late in 2004 Russia deferred to the Nuclear Suppliers' Group and declined to supply further uranium for them. They underwent six months' refurbishment over 2005-06, and in March 2006 Russia agreed to resume fuel supply. In December 2008 a $700 million contract with Rosatom was announced for continued uranium supply to them. In 2015 a further contract was signed with TVEL for pellets which will be incorporated into fuel assemblies at the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad. However, frequent maintenance shutdowns have made them unprofitable, so DAE may shut them down.
The two small Canadian (Candu) PHWRs at Rajasthan nuclear power plant started up in 1972 & 1980, and are also under safeguards. Rajasthan 1 was downrated early in its life and has operated very little since 2002 due to ongoing problems. It has been shut down since 2004 as the government considers its future. It is still listed by NPCIL as operable though a parliamentary answer in August 2012 said it “is under extended shutdown for techno-economic assessment on continuation of operations.” In March 2017 the minister said a decision on reopening Rajasthan 1 will be made following the techno-economic assessment. Rajasthan 2 was downrated in 1990. It had major refurbishment 2007-09 and has been running on imported uranium at full capacity.
The 220 MWe PHWRs (202 MWe net) were indigenously designed and constructed by NPCIL, based on a Canadian design. The only accident to an Indian nuclear plant was due to a turbine hall fire in 1993 at Narora, which resulted in a 17-hour total station blackout. There was no core damage or radiological impact and it was rated 3 on the INES scale – a 'serious incident'.
The Madras (MAPS) reactors were refurbished in 2002-03 and 2004-05 and their capacity restored to 220 MWe gross (from 170). Much of the core of each reactor was replaced, and the lifespans extended to 2033/36.
Kakrapar unit 1 was fully refurbished and upgraded in 2009-10, after 16 years operation, as was Narora 2, with cooling channel (calandria tube) replacement. In March 2016 unit 1 was shut down due to a coolant leak, and repairs are running through into 2017. There is widespread corrosion in both Kakrapar units and coolant channels are being replaced.
Following the Fukushima accident in March 2011, four NPCIL taskforces evaluated the situation in India and in an interim report in July made recommendations for safety improvements of the Tarapur BWRs and each PHWR type. The report of a high-level committee appointed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was submitted at the end of August 2011, saying that the Tarapur and Madras plants needed some supplementary provisions to cope with major disasters. The two Tarapur BWRs have already been upgraded to ensure continuous cooling of the reactor during prolonged station blackouts and to provide nitrogen injection to containment structures, but further work is recommended. Madras needs enhanced flood defences in case of tsunamis higher than that in 2004. The prototype fast breeder reactor (PFR) under construction next door at Kalpakkam has defences which are already sufficiently high, following some flooding of the site in 2004.
The Tarapur 3&4 reactors of 540 MWe gross (490 MWe net) were developed indigenously from the 220 MWe (gross) model PHWR and were built by NPCIL. The first – Tarapur 4 – was connected to the grid in June 2005 and started commercial operation in September. Tarapur 4's criticality came five years after pouring first concrete and seven months ahead of schedule. Its twin – unit 3 – was about a year behind it and was connected to the grid in June 2006 with commercial operation in August, five months ahead of schedule. Tarapur 3&4 cost about $1200/kW, and are competitive with imported coal.
Future indigenous PHWR reactors will be 700 MWe gross (640 MWe net). The first four are being built at Kakrapar and Rajasthan. They were due online by 2017 after 60 months' construction from first concrete to criticality. Up to 40% of the fuel they use will be slightly enriched uranium (SEU) – about 1.1% U-235, to achieve higher fuel burn-up – about 21,000 MWd/t instead of one-third of this. Initially this fuel will be imported as SEU.
Kudankulam 1&2: Russia's Atomstroyexport supplied the country's first large nuclear power plant, comprising two VVER-1000 (V-412) reactors, under a Russian-financed US$ 3 billion contract and 1988 Russia-India agreement with 1998 supplement. The cost was reported as Rs 17,270 crore – $2.7 billion – in 2015 but at "over Rs 22,000 crore" ($3.3 billion) by NPCIL in mid-2016, including Rs 9,000 crore escalation due to delays. A subsequent figure was Rs 20,962 crore. A long-term credit facility covered about half the cost of the plant.
The AES-92 units at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu state have been built by NPCIL and also commissioned and operated by NPCIL under IAEA safeguards. The turbines were made by Silmash in St Petersburg and have evidently given some trouble during commissioning. Unlike other Atomstroyexport projects such as in Iran, there was only a maximum of 80 Russian supervisory staff on the project. This resulted in a more problematical than expected learning curve as Indian engineers adapted to the PWR design from Canadian-type PHWR experience. Construction started in March 2002.
Russia is supplying all the enriched fuel through the life of the plant, though India will reprocess it and keep the plutonium for civil use*. The first unit was due to start supplying power in March 2008 and go into commercial operation late in 2008, but this schedule slipped by six years. In the latter part of 2011 and into 2012 completion and fuel loading was delayed by public protests, but in March 2012 the state government approved the plant's commissioning and said it would deal with any obstruction. Unit 1 started up in mid-July 2013, was connected to the grid in October 2013 and entered commercial operation at the end of December 2014. It had reached full power in mid-year but then required turbine repairs for nearly six months. It generated only 2.8 TWh in its first year, at a cost of under Rs 4.0 per kWh (6 c/kWh). Unit 2 construction was declared complete in July 2015, it was grid-connected in August 2016, and commenced commercial operation at the start of April 2017. Each unit is 917 MWe net.
* The original agreement in 1988 specified return of used fuel to Russia, but a 1998 supplemental agreement allowed India to retain and reprocess it.
While the first core load of fuel was delivered early in 2008 there have been delays in supply of some equipment and documentation. Control system documentation was delivered late, and when reviewed by NPCIL it showed up the need for significant refining and even reworking some aspects. The design basis flood level is 5.44m, and the turbine hall floor is 8.1m above mean sea level. The 2004 tsunami was under 3m.
A small desalination plant is associated with the Kudankulam plant to produce 426 m3/h for it using four-stage multi-vacuum compression (MVC) technology. Another reverse osmosis (RO) plant is in operation to supply local township needs.
Output from Kudankulam 1 is being supplied to India's southern grid and in 2016 divided among five states: Tamil Nadu (56%), Karnataka (22%), Kerala (13%), Andhra Pradesh (5%) and Puducherry (3%).
Kudankulam 3&4 are being built as the first stage of phase 2 at the site and are also AES-92 units being built with Russian technical assistance “within the scope of” the 1988 agreement. Their cost is expected to be Rs 39,747 crore and the project was officially launched in October 2016 (see below under
Nuclear Energy Parks).
Kaiga 3 started up in February, was connected to the grid in April and went into commercial operation in May 2007. Unit 4 started up in November 2010 and was grid-connected in January 2011, but is about 30 months behind original schedule due to shortage of uranium. The Kaiga units are not under UN safeguards, so cannot use imported uranium.
Rajasthan 5 started up in November 2009, using imported Russian fuel, and in December it was connected to the northern grid. RAPP 6 started up in January 2010 and was grid connected at the end of March. Both are now in commercial operation.
Under plans for the India-specific safeguards to be administered by the IAEA in relation to the civil-military separation plan, eight further reactors were to be safeguarded (beyond Tarapur 1&2, Rajasthan 1&2, and Kudankulam 1&2): Rajasthan 3&4 from 2010, Rajasthan 5&6 from 2008, Kakrapar 1&2 by 2012 and Narora 1&2 by 2014.
India's nuclear power reactors under construction:
Reactor Type MWe gross, net (each) Project control Construction start Commercial operation due Safeguards status
Kalpakkam PFBR FBR 500, 470 Bhavini Oct 2004 criticality late 2017,
commercial operation 2018? nil
Kakrapar 3 PHWR 700, 630 NPCIL Nov 2010 start Nov 2017,
commercial operation early 2018
Kakrapar 4 PHWR 700, 630 NPCIL March 2011 mid-2018?
Rajasthan 7 PHWR 700, 630 NPCIL July 2011 2019?
Rajasthan 8 PHWR 700, 630 NPCIL Sept 2011 2019?
Total (5) 3300 MWe gross
Rajasthan/RAPS also known as Rawatbhata
In mid-2008 Indian nuclear power plants were running at about half of capacity due to a chronic shortage of fuel. Average load factor for India’s power reactors dipped below 60% over 2006-2010, reaching only 40% in 2008. Some easing after 2008 was due to the new Turamdih mill in Jharkhand state coming on line (the mine there was already operating). Political opposition has delayed new mines in Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Telengana.
A 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) started construction in 2004 at Kalpakkam near Madras. It was expected to start up about the end of 2010 and produce power in 2011, but this schedule is delayed significantly. In 2014, 1750 tonnes of sodium coolant was delivered. With construction completed, in June 2015 Bhavini was “awaiting clearance from the AERB for sodium charging, fuel loading, reactor criticality and then stepping up power generation." The sodium coolant is now to be loaded from the end of 2016. Criticality is expected in 2017. The approved cost is Rs 5677 crore ($850 million). It is not under IAEA safeguards.
In contrast to the situation in the 1990s, most reactors under construction to 2012 were on schedule (apart from fuel shortages 2007-09), and the first two – Tarapur 3&4 – were slightly increased in capacity. These and future planned ones were 450 (now 490) MWe versions of the 202 MWe domestic products. Beyond them and the last of the 202 MWe units, future PHWR units will be nominal 700 MWe.
In 2005 four sites were approved for eight new reactors. Two of the sites – Kakrapar and Rajasthan – would have 700 MWe indigenous PHWR units, Kudankulam would have imported 1000 MWe VVER light water reactors alongside the two being built there by Russia, and the fourth site was greenfield for two 1000 MWe LWR units – Jaitapur (Jaithalpur) in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra state, on the west coast. The plan has since expanded to six 1600 MWe EPR units here.
In April 2007 the government gave approval for the first four of eight planned 700 MWe PHWR units: Kakrapar 3&4 and Rajasthan 7&8, to be built by Hindustan Construction using indigenous technology. In mid-2009 construction approval was confirmed, and late in 2009 the finance for them was approved. Site works at Kakrapar were completed by August 2010. First concrete for Kakrapar 3&4 was in November 2010 and March 2011 respectively, after Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) approval. The AERB approved Rajasthan 7&8 in August 2010, and site works then began. First concrete was in July 2011. Construction was then expected to take 66 months to commercial operation. In September 2009 L&T secured an order for four steam generators for Rajasthan 7&8, having already supplied similar ones for Kakrapar 3&4. In December 2012 L&T was awarded the $135 million contract for balance of turbine island for Rajasthan 7&8.
Their estimated cost is Rs 12,320 crore (Rs 123.2 billion, $2.6 billion) each pair. Both these projects are delayed apparently by the reluctance of supply chain companies to provide equipment without NPCIL giving indemnity under the 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act. Delay is also attributed to financial constraints. NPCIL said in July 2016 that delays in the supply of equipment including steam generators from Indian sources plus the nuclear liability issue have put the projects behind schedule, and the Minister of Atomic Energy said that Kakrapar 3&4 were only 75.5% complete and Rajasthan 7&8 were only 61.5% complete then. Completion of the four units is now envisaged in 2019.
Construction costs of reactors as reported by AEC are about $1200 per kilowatt for Tarapur 3&4 (540 MWe), $1300/kW for Kaiga 3&4 (220 MWe) and expected $1700/kW for the 700 MWe PHWRs with 60-year life expectancy.
In April 2015 the government gave in principle approval for new nuclear plants at ten sites in nine states. Those for indigenous PHWRs are: Gorakhpur in Haryana's Fatehabad; Chutka and Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh; Kaiga in Karnataka; and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan. Those for plants with foreign cooperation are: Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu (VVER); Jaitapur in Maharashtra (EPR); Chhaya Mithi Virdhi in Gujarat (AP1000); Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh (originally ESBWR) and Haripur in West Bengal (VVER), though this location had been in doubt. In addition, two 600 MWe fast breeder reactors are proposed at Kalpakkam. In mid-2016 the Kovvada site was allocated for AP1000 units instead of Mithi Virdhi, and the ESBWR prospects receded.
New phase of nuclear industry developments
Following the Nuclear Suppliers Group agreement which was achieved in September 2008, the scope for sourcing both reactors and fuel from suppliers in other countries opened up. Civil nuclear cooperation agreements have been signed with the USA, Russia, France, UK, South Korea, Czech Republic and Canada, as well as Australia, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Namibia. A further nuclear cooperation agreement was signed with the UK in November 2015, with “a comprehensive package” of collaboration on energy and climate change matters involving £3.2 billion ($4.9 billion) in programmes and initiatives related to energy security and energy access. However, there was no civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Japan, which loomed as a limiting factor for some technology provision involving GE Hitachi and Westinghouse. Eventually a preliminary agreement was signed in December 2015, and after six years of negotiations a full nuclear cooperation agreement was signed in November 2016. It will allow India to import Japanese nuclear technology, and secures Japan’s support for India to join the international Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
On the basis of the 2010 cooperation agreement with Canada, in April 2013 a bilateral safeguards agreement was signed between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), allowing trade in nuclear materials and technology for facilities which are under IAEA safeguards. A similar bilateral safeguards agreement with Australia was signed in 2014 and finalised in November 2015. Both apply essentially to uranium supply.
The initial two Russian PWR types at the Kudankulam site were apart from India's three-stage plan for nuclear power and were simply to increase generating capacity more rapidly. Now there are plans for eight 1000 MWe units at that site, and in January 2007 a memorandum of understanding was signed for Russia to build the next four there, as well as others elsewhere in India. A further such agreement was signed in December 2010, and Rosatom announced that it expected to build no less than 18 reactors in India. Then in December 2014 another high-level nuclear cooperation agreement was signed with a view to Russia building 20 more reactors plus cooperation in building Russian-designed nuclear power plants in third countries, in uranium mining, production of nuclear fuel, and waste management. India was also to confirm a second location for a Russian plant – Haripur in West Bengal being in some doubt. Most of the new units are expected to be the larger 1200 MWe AES-2006 designs. Russia was earlier reported to have offered a 30% discount on the $2 billion price tag for each of the phase 2 Kudankulam reactors. This was based on plans to start serial production of reactors for the Indian nuclear industry, with much of the equipment and components proposed to be manufactured in India, thereby bringing down costs. However, at the end of 2015 the approved cost of Kudankulam units 3&4 was Rs 39,747 crore ($5.96 billion), according to the Minister for Atomic Energy, more than twice the costs of units 1&2, due to liability issues.
Between 2010 and 2020, further nuclear plant construction was expected to take total gross capacity to 21,180 MWe, though this timeline is now extended and less than half that is likely by 2020. The nuclear capacity target is part of national energy policy. The planned increment included many of those set out in the Table below ('planned') plus the initial 300 MWe advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR).
Looking beyond the Russian light water reactors, NPCIL had meetings and technical discussions with three major reactor suppliers – Areva of France, GE Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric Corporation of the USA (owned by Toshiba in Japan) for supply of reactors for these projects and for new units at Kaiga. These resulted in more formal agreements with each reactor supplier early in 2009, as described in the
Nuclear Energy Parks subsection below. The benchmark capital cost sanctioned by DAE for imported units was quoted at $1600 per kilowatt. An important aspect of all these agreements is that, as with Kudankulam, India will reprocess the used fuel to recover plutonium for its indigenous three-stage civil program, using a purpose-built and safeguarded integrated nuclear recycle plant. However, all three agreements beyond that with Russia are stalled due to liability concerns.
In late 2008 NPCIL announced that as part of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-12), it would start site work for 12 reactors including the rest of the eight 700 MWe PHWRs, three or four fast breeder reactors and one 300 MWe advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) in 2009. NPCIL said that "India is now focusing on capacity addition through indigenisation" with progressively higher local content for imported designs, up to 80%. Looking further ahead its augmentation plan included construction of 25-30 light water reactors of at least 1000 MWe by 2030. In the event only four 700 MWe PHWR units started construction over 2007-12.
Early in 2012 NPCIL projections had the following additions to the 10.08 GWe anticipated in 2017 as "possible": 4.2 GWe PHWR, 7.0 GWe PHWR (based on recycled U), 40 GWe LWR, 2.0 GWe FBR. These projections also have not materialised.
In June 2012 NPCIL announced four new sites for twin PHWR units: at Gorakhpur/ Kumbariya near Fatehabad district in Haryana, at Banswada in Rajasthan, at Chutka in Mandla district and at Bheempur also in Madhya Pradesh. Initially these would add 2800 MWe, followed by a further 2800. Site work has started at Gorakhpur with Haryana state government support.
In mid-2015 NPCIL confirmed plans for Kaiga 5&6 as 700 MWe PHWR units, costing about Rs 6,000 crore.
NPCIL is also planning to build an indigenous 900 MWe PWR, the Indian Pressurised Water Reactor (IPWR), designed by BARC in connection with its work on submarine power plants. A site for the first plant is being sought, a uranium enrichment plant is planned, the reactor pressure vessel forging will be carried out by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and NPCIL's new joint venture plant at Hazira, and the turbine will come from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
Meanwhile, NPCIL is offering both 220 and 540 MWe PHWRs for export, in markets requiring small- to medium-sized reactors.
Power reactors planned (XII plan 2012, and April 2015 approval in principle)
Reactor State Type MWe gross (each) Project control Start construction Start operation
Kudankulam 3 Tamil Nadu AES-92 1050 NPCIL March 2017 2022
Kudankulam 4 AES-92 1050 NPCIL 2017? 2023
Gorakhpur 1 Haryana (Fatehabad district) PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2022
Gorakhpur 2 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2023
Chutka 1 Madhya Pradesh (Mandla) PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2024
Chutka 2 PHWR 700 NPCIL 2017? 2025
Bhimpur 1&2 Madhya Pradesh PHWR x 2 700 NPCIL 2017?
Mahi Banswara 1&2 Rajasthan PHWR x 2 700 NPCIL 2017?
Kaiga 5&6 Karnataka PHWR x 2 700 NPCIL 2017?
Kudankulam 5&6 Tamil Nadu AES-92 x 2 1050 NPCIL ?
Kalpakkam 2&3 Tamil Nadu FBR x 2 600 Bhavini 2017?
Jaitapur 1&2 Ratnagiri, Maharashtra EPR x 2 1700 NPCIL 2018? delayed due to liability
Kovvada 1&2 Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh AP1000 x 2 1250 NPCIL 2018? 2025, 2026
delayed due to liability
Subtotal planned 20 units 18,300 MWe
Power reactors proposed
Reactor State Type MWe gross (each) Project control Start construction Start operation
? AHWR 300 NPCIL 2017? 2022
"Haripur 1&2"
another site West Bengal (but likely relocated, maybe to Kavali in Andhra Pradesh) AES-2006 1200 NPCIL
Kudankulam 7&8 Tamil Nadu AES 2006 1200 NPCIL
"Kudankulam 9-12" Andhra Pradesh AES-2006 1200 NPCIL
Gorakhpur 3&4 Haryana (Fatehabad district) PHWR 700 NPCIL 2019
Chutka 3&4 Madhya Pradesh PHWR 700 BHEL-NPCIL-GE?
Rajouli, Nawada 1-2 Bihar PHWR 700 NPCIL
? PWR x 2 1000 NPCIL/NTPC
Jaitapur 3&4 Ratnagiri, Maharashtra PWR – EPR 1700 NPCIL
? ? FBR x 4 500 Bhavini
Jaitapur 5&6 Ratnagiri, Maharashtra PWR – EPR 1700 NPCIL
Markandi (Pati Sonapur) Orissa PWR 6000 MWe NPCIL
Kovvada 3&4 Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh AP1000 1250 NPCIL 2020?
Earlier: "Kovvada 1-6" Originally Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh Originally ESBWR 1600 NPCIL 2018?
Nizampatnam 1-6 Guntur, Andhra Pradesh 6x? 1200 NPCIL
"Haripur 3&4"
another site West Bengal, Orissa or Kavali in Andhra Pradesh AES-2006? 1200 NPCIL
Pulivendula Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh PWR? PHWR? 1000? 700? NPCIL 51%, AP Genco 49%
Kovvada 5&6 Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh AP1000 1250 NPCIL 2022?
Chhaya-Mithi Virdi 1-6 Bhavnagar, Gujarat AP1000 1250 NPCIL
Subtotal proposed approx 55 64,000 MWe approx (discounted 44 units, 51 GWe)
For WNA reactor table: first 20 units 'planned'; next (estimated) 55 units and 64 GWe 'proposed' – 80% of both figures listed (44 and 51,000 MWe). There is likely some duplication among reported plans for West Bengal, Orissa and with Russian units beyond Kudankulam 8.
Nuclear Energy ParksHaripur, below.
Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana (GHAVP) in the Fatehabad district of Haryana is a project with four indigenous 700 MWe PHWR units in two phases, and the AEC has approved the state's proposal for the 2800 MWe plant. Kakrapar 3&4 and Rajasthan 7&8 are the reference design. The inland northern state of Haryana is one of the country's most industrialized and has a demand of 8900 MWe, but currently generates less than 2000 MWe and imports 4000 MWe. The Gorakhpur plant may be paid for by the state government or Haryana Power Generation Corp.
NPCIL is undertaking site infrastructure works near the villages of Kumharia and Gorakhpur, and the official groundbreaking was in January 2014. A final environmental assessment for the project was approved in December 2013, and government approval for Gorakhpur phase 1 was in February 2014. The AERB granted a siting licence in July 2015. Construction is due to begin in June 2015, with the first unit on line in 2021 after 63 months' construction. The Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space announced in March 2016 that the first unit would be online in six years, and electricity would be supplied to consumers at the rate of Rs 6.5 (US$0.10) per unit. The cost of the first two units is put at INR 210 billion ($3.4 billion). In July 2016 NPCIL was seeking bids for domestic supply of equipment, noting that this would be the first plant subject to the 2010 civil liability legislation.
Three projects are delayed indefinitely, though one may proceed after site reallocation:
Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh's northern coastal Srikakulam district was originally intended to host six GE Hitachi ESBWR units, but is now designated for six Westinghouse AP1000 units.
GE Hitachi said in June 2012 that it was undertaking a preliminary environmental assessment and preparing an early works agreement with NPCIL to set terms for obtaining approval from the government for the project. In February 2014 NPCIL said it hoped to commence construction of the first 1594 MWe reactor early in 2015. However, with no change to the 2010 Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, GEH in September 2015 said it would not proceed with any investment in India until the country’s liability regime was brought into line with the rest of the world. In June 2016 DAE said that it would not support building any reactor design that did not have a reference plant, which ruled out the ESBWR for the time being. This coincided with NPCIL allocating the Kovvada site to Westinghouse for six AP1000 reactors.
In July 2016 the Atomic Energy Minister said that a land survey had been completed, acquisition of 840 ha was proposed. In September 2016 NPCIL submitted an environmental assessment to the environment ministry, requesting clearance to proceed with building the AP1000 plant. A draft social impact study has been completed for the state government. The Indian and US governments have called for continued engagement between Westinghouse and NPCIL towards finalising the contractual arrangements for the six Kovvada units by June 2017. It is proposed to start construction of one unit per year from 2018, with the first operational in 2025.
Jaitapur (JNPP) in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district: following a February 2009 general agreement with Areva to build six EPR reactors, a €7 billion framework agreement with Areva was signed in December 2010 for the first two, with Alstom turbine-generators, along with 25 years supply of fuel.
Environmental approval has been given for these, with coastal zone clearances, but early in 2014 the application for siting consent was still under review by AERB. The site will host six units, providing 9600 MWe. Areva had hoped to obtain export credit financing and sign a contract by the end of 2012, to put the first two units on line in 2020 and 2021. In 2013 negotiations continued and the government said it expected the cost of the first two units to be 120,000 crore ($20 billion). France has agreed to a 25-year loan for the project at 4.8%. In April 2015 Areva signed a pre-engineering agreement contract with NPCIL in preparation for licensing the EPR design. In May 2015 Areva said that construction might begin in two years, with 50% local content in the first units. However timing is dependent on resolution of nuclear liability questions. NPCIL has sought an extension of the five-year environmental clearance which expired in November 2015.
In March 2014 Areva and DAE with NPCIL were reported to have agreed on a power price of Rs 6.5/kWh (10.6 US cents, $106/MWh), though Areva had been aiming for Rs 9.18. However, in June 2014 it was reported that there was as yet no agreement and that DAE was adamant that the cost could not be more than Rs 6.5/kWh. Areva was holding out for the higher price.
In January 2016 the prime minister and the French president announced that they "encouraged their industrial companies to conclude techno-commercial negotiations by the end of 2016" on Jaitapur. They called for "due consideration to cost viability of the project, economical financing from the French side, collaboration on transfer of technology and cost-effective localization of manufacturing in India for large and critical components. Their shared aim is to start the implementation of the project in early 2017." France acknowledges the need for India to have a "lifetime guarantee of fuel supply and renewed its commitment to reliable, uninterrupted and continued access to nuclear fuel supply throughout the entire lifetime of the plants." In July 2016 EdF submitted a fresh proposal to NPCIL and the Ministry of External Affairs for six EPR units, but seeking guarantee of “the same level of protection” in relation to liability that is available at the international level, and citing the Vienna convention on liability.
Chhaya-Mithi Virdi in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district was intended to host up to six Westinghouse AP1000 units built in three stages on the coast, and it may yet do so.
NPCIL commenced site works in 2012, and a preliminary environmental assessment for the whole project was completed in January 2013. State and local government and coastal zone clearances were obtained. A preliminary commercial contract between NPCIL and Westinghouse was signed in September 2013 along with an agreement to carry out a two-year preliminary safety analysis for the project. NPCIL said that it “must lay emphasis on strong public acceptance outreach and project planning." In October 2014 the Ministry of Environment & Forests asked NPCIL for further assessment of environmental and land acquisition matters in its environment impact assessment (EIA). NPCIL was then in the process of obtaining site clearance form the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). However, the land acquisition process was held up pending passage of a new federal Land Acquisition Act, which was delayed in the upper house. Then in May 2016 NPCIL changed the initial Westinghouse AP1000 site to Kovvada in the northern coastal Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, and in June the government announced that the final contract was to be completed in June 2017. The first stage of two units was originally due online in 2019-20, the others to 2024. Westinghouse still expects to build six AP1000 units at Chhaya-Mithi Virdi however, after those at Kovvada.
In addition to the original five energy parks:
Chutka (CNPP) in inland Madhya Pradesh is also designated for two indigenous 700 MWe PHWR units. NPCIL has initiated pre-project activities here. The EIA report was released in March 2013 and a public hearing at Chutka was in February 2014. The expected cost for two units is Rs 16,550 crore ($2.48 billion). Construction start was planned for 2015.
Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan is a new site for 700 MWe PHWRs. Land acquisition, government approval and environmental assessment are in train. Two units were in the 2012 XII Plan, and the government announced in principle approval in August 2016 for construction of four units.
At Markandi (Pati Sonapur) in Orissa there are plans for up to 6000 MWe of PWR capacity. Major industrial developments are planned in that area and Orissa was the first Indian state to privatise electricity generation and transmission. State demand was expected to reach 20 billion kWh/yr by 2010. However, these plans may have merged with others.
Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh has in-principle government approval for two 700 MWe PHWRs, according to the DAE annual report 2013-14.
The AEC has also mentioned possible new nuclear power plants in Bihar and Jharkhand.
NTPC) in 2007 had proposed building a 2000 MWe nuclear power plant to be in operation by 2017. It would be the utility's first nuclear plant and also the first conventional nuclear plant not built by the 89.5% government-owned NPCIL. This proposal took the form of a joint venture in 2011 with NPCIL holding 51%, and possibly extending to multiple projects utilising local and imported technology, but pending amendment to the Atomic Energy Act. One of the sites earmarked for a pair of 700 MWe PHWR units in Haryana or Madhya Pradesh was considered prospective for the joint venture. NTPC said it aimed by 2014 to have demonstrated progress in "setting up nuclear power generation capacity", and that the initial "planned nuclear portfolio of 2000 MWe by 2017" could be greater. However in 2012 it indicated a downgrading of its nuclear plans.
NTPC planned to increase its total installed capacity to 70 GWe by 2017 and 128 GWe by 2032, from 47 GWe (74% coal) in 2016. In 2008 it also formed joint ventures in heavy engineering, with BHEL and Bharat Forge. The former is to explore, secure and execute EPC contracts for power plants and other infrastructure projects in India and abroad, as well as manufacturing and supplying equipment for them. With the 2011 JV with NPCIL, this was reported as also selling India's largely indigenous 220 MWe PHWR reactor units abroad, possibly in contra deals involving uranium supply from countries such as Namibia and Mongolia.
[paste:font size="4"]Nalco plans
The 87% state-owned National Aluminium Company (Nalco) signed an agreement with NPCIL with the intention of building a 1400 MWe nuclear power plant on the east coast, in Orissa's Ganjam district. A more specific agreement was signed in November 2011 to set up a joint venture with NPCIL – NPCIL Nalco Power Co Ltd – giving it 26% equity in Kakrapar 3&4 (total 1300 MWe net) under construction in Gujarat on the west coast for Rs 1700 crore ($285 million). The total project size is Rs 12,000 crore with the total debt requirement at Rs 7,000 crore. Nalco sought government permission to increase this share to 49%, pending amendment to the Atomic Energy Act. It was also seeking to buy uranium assets in Africa. In May 2016 it was reported to have pulled out of the JV with NPCIL, but at the end of the year the JV continued.
Nalco already has its own 1200 MWe coal-fired power plant in Orissa state at Angul, to serve its refinery and its Angul smelter of 345,000 tpa, being expanded to 460,000 tpa (requiring about 1 GWe of constant supply). It has set up wind farms in Andhra Pradesh (50.4 MWe) and Rajasthan (47.6 MWe).
IOC and ONGC plans
India's national oil company, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), in November 2009 joined with NPCIL in an agreement "for partnership in setting up nuclear power plants in India," again anticipating the 2016 amendment to the Atomic Energy Act. The initial plant envisaged was to be at least 1000 MWe, and NPCIL would be the operator and at least 51% owner. In November 2010 IOC agreed to take a 26% stake in Rajasthan 7&8 (2x700 MWe) as a joint venture, with the option to increase this to 49%. The estimated project cost is Rs 12,320 crore (123 billion rupees, $2.1 billion), and the 26% will represent only 2% of IOC's capital budget in the 11th plan to 2012. The formal JV agreement was signed in January 2011.
The cash-rich Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which (upstream of IOC) provides some 80% of the country's crude oil and natural gas and is 84% government-owned, had formal talks with AEC about becoming a minority partner with NPCIL on present or planned 700 MWe PHWR projects. It was later reported that ONGC intended to build 2000 MWe in joint venture with NPCIL (51%) once the Atomic Energy Act was amended.
Other plans and proposals
Indian Railways, with power requirement of 3000 MWe now and rising to 5000 MWe about 2022, also approached NPCIL to set up a joint venture to build two 500 MWe PHWR nuclear plants on railway land or existing nuclear sites for its own power requirements. The Railways already has a joint venture with NTPC – Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Company – to build a 1000 MWe coal-fired power plant at Nabi Nagar in Aurangabad district of Bihar, with the 250 MWe units coming on line 2014-15. The Railways also plans to set up another 2 x 660 MWe supercritical thermal power plant at Adra in Purulia district of West Bengal for traction supply at economical tariff. Some 23,500 km of its 65,000 km lines are electrified, and it spends 8000 crore ($1.34 billion) per year on power, at INR 5.4/kWh which it expects to reduce to INR 4.0/kWh (9 cents to 6.6 c).
In March 2017 NPCIL said it planned a joint venture with Indian Railways to set up nuclear power projects.
The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and NPCIL were discussing a joint venture to build a 700 MWe PHWR plant. The site would be chosen by NPCIL, in Gujarat or elsewhere in western India.
In anticipation of the Atomic Energy Act amendment in 2016, Reliance Power Ltd, GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd and GMR Energy Ltd were reported to be in discussion with overseas nuclear vendors including Areva, GE Hitachi, Westinghouse and Atomstroyexport.
In September 2009 the AEC announced a version of its planned Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (the AHWR-300 LEU) designed for export.
In August and September 2009 the AEC reaffirmed its commitment to the thorium fuel cycle, particularly thorium-based FBRs, to make the country a technological leader. However, little has happened on this front since then.
Overseas reactor vendors
As described above, there have been a succession of agreements with Russia's Atomstroyexport to build further VVER reactors. In March 2010 a 'roadmap' for building six more reactors at Kudankulam by 2017 and four more at Haripur after 2017 was agreed, bringing the total to 12. The number may be increased after 2017, in India's 13th five-year plan. Associate company Atomenergomash (AEM) set up an office in India with a view to bidding for future work there and in Vietnam, and finalizing a partnership with an Indian heavy manufacturer, either L&T (see below) or another. A Russian fuel fabrication plant is also under consideration.
In February 2009 Areva signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL to build two, and later four more, EPR units at Jaitapur, and a formal contract was expected. This followed the government signing a nuclear cooperation agreement with France in September 2008. Areva says that the EPR has achieved Design Acceptance Certification in India.
In March 2009 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy signed agreements with NPCIL and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) to begin planning to build a multi-unit power plant using 1350 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactors (ABWR). In May 2009 L&T was brought into the picture. In April 2010 it was announced that the BHEL-NPCIL joint venture was still in discussion with an unnamed technology partner to build a 1400 MWe nuclear plant at Chutka in Madhya Pradesh state, with Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Company Limited (MPPGCL) the nodal agency to facilitate the execution of the project.
In May 2009 Westinghouse signed a memorandum of understanding with NPCIL regarding deployment of its AP1000 reactors, using local components (probably from L&T).
After a break of three decades, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) was keen to resume technical cooperation, especially in relation to servicing India's PHWRs (though this would now be undertaken by Candu Energy), and there were preliminary discussions regarding the sale of an ACR-1000.
In August 2009 NPCIL signed agreements with Korea Electric Power Co (KEPCO) to study the prospects for building Korean APR-1400 reactors in India. This could proceed following bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements signed in October 2010 and July 2011.
The LWRs to be set up by these foreign companies are reported to have a lifetime guarantee of fuel supply.
However, foreign reactor suppliers have put most plans on hold due to the possible implications of India’s Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010. See Nuclear liability section below.
Fast neutron reactors
Longer term, the AEC envisages its fast reactor program being 30 to 40 times bigger than the PHWR program, and initially at least, largely in the military sphere until its "synchronised working" with the reprocessing plant is proven on an 18- to 24-month cycle. This will be linked with up to 40,000 MWe of light water reactor capacity, the used fuel feeding ten times that fast breeder capacity, thus "deriving much larger benefit out of the external acquisition in terms of light water reactors and their associated fuel". This 40 GWe of imported LWR capacity multiplied to 400 GWe via FBR would complement 200-250 GWe based on the indigenous three-stage program of PHWR-FBR-AHWR (see Thorium cycle section below). Thus AEC is "talking about 500 to 600 GWe nuclear over the next 50 years or so" in India, plus export opportunities.
In 2002 the regulatory authority issued approval to start construction of a 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam and this has been built by BHAVINI (Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd), a government enterprise set up under DAE to focus on FBRs. It was expected to start up in September 2014, fuelled with MOX (mixed uranium-plutonium oxide, the 30% of reactor-grade Pu being from its existing PHWRs) made at Tarapur by BARC, as hexagonal fuel asemblies. It has a blanket with uranium and thorium to breed fissile plutonium and U-233 respectively, taking the thorium program to stage two, and setting the scene for eventual full utilisation of the country's abundant thorium to fuel reactors. It is a sodium-cooled pool-type reactor having two primary and two secondary loops, with four steam generators per loop. It is designed for a 40-year operating life at 75% load factor. Two more such 500 MWe fast reactors have been announced for construction at Kalpakkam, but slightly redesigned by the Indira Gandhi Centre to reduce capital cost. Then four more are planned at another site.
Initial FBRs will have mixed oxide fuel or carbide fuel, but these will be followed by metallic fuelled ones to enable shorter doubling time. One of the last of the above six, or possibly the fourth one overall, is to have the flexibility to convert from MOX to metallic fuel (ie a dual fuel unit), and it is planned to convert the small FBTR to metallic fuel about 2013 (see R&D section below). With metal fuel, a 500 MWe unit is expected to produce 2 tonnes of reactor-grade plutonium in 8-10 years. The reactor is not under international safeguards.
Following these will be a 1000 MWe fast reactor using metallic fuel, and construction of the first is expected to start about 2020. This design is intended to be the main part of the Indian nuclear fleet from the 2020s. A fuel fabrication plant and a reprocessing plant for metal fuels are planned for Kalpakkam, as the Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility approved for construction in 2013.
A December 2010 scientific and technical cooperation agreement between AEC and Rosatom is focused on "joint development of a new generation of fast reactors".
Heavy engineering in India
India's largest engineering group, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced in July 2008 that it was preparing to venture into international markets for supply of heavy engineering components for nuclear reactors. It formed a 20 billion rupee (US$ 463 million) venture with NPCIL to build a new plant for domestic and export nuclear forgings at its Hazira, Surat coastal site in Gujarat state. This will produce 600-tonne ingots in its steel melt shop and have a very large forging press to supply finished forgings for nuclear reactors, pressurizers and steam generators, and also heavy forgings for critical equipment in the hydrocarbon sector and for thermal power plants. In 2015 Westinghouse said that it was equipped to produce reactor pressure vessels and other major components for AP1000 reactors.
In the context of India's trade isolation over three decades L&T has produced heavy components for 17 of India's pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) and has also secured contracts for 80% of the components for the fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam. It is qualified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to fabricate nuclear-grade pressure vessels and core support structures, achieving this internationally recognised quality standard in 2007, and further ASME accreditation in 2010. It is one of about ten major nuclear-qualified heavy engineering enterprises worldwide.
Early in 2009, L&T signed four agreements with foreign nuclear power reactor vendors. The first, with Westinghouse, set up L&T to produce component modules for Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor. The second agreement was with Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL) "to develop a competitive cost/scope model for the ACR-1000" (though this would have lapsed). In April it signed an agreement with Atomstroyexport primarily focused on components for the next four VVER reactors at Kudankulam, but extending beyond that to other Russian VVER plants in India and internationally. Then in May 2009 it signed an agreement with GE Hitachi to produce major components for ABWRs from its new Hazira JV plant. The two companies hope to utilize indigenous Indian capabilities for the complete construction of nuclear power plants including the supply of reactor equipment and systems, valves, electrical and instrumentation products for ABWR plants to be built in India. L&T "will collaborate with GEH to engineer, manufacture, construct and provide certain construction management services" for an envisaged ABWR project, possibly at Chutka in Madhya Pradesh. Early in 2010 L&T signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce to produce technology and components for light water reactors in India and internationally.
Following the 2008 removal of trade restrictions, Indian companies led by Reliance Power (RPower), NPCIL, and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) said that they planned to invest over US$ 50 billion in the next five years to expand their manufacturing base in the nuclear energy sector. BHEL planned to spend $7.5 billion in two years building plants to supply components for reactors of 1,600 MWe. Mumbai-based Walchandnagar Industries Limited aims to build a factory in Gujarat in joint venture with Atomenergomash OJSC in line with a 2010 agreement to build nuclear power equipment for both Indian and export markets. If this does not proceed, it is open to a JV with Westinghouse or EDF.
BHEL also planned to set up a tripartite joint venture with NPCIL and Alstom to supply turbines for nuclear plants of 700 MWe, 1,000 MWe and 1,600 MWe. In June 2010 Alstom confirmed that the equal joint venture with NPCIL and BHEL would be capitalized to €25 million, to provide turbines initially for eight 700 MWe PHWR units, then for imported large units. Another joint venture is with NPCIL and a foreign partner to make steam generators for 1000-1600 MWe plants.
Two contracts awarded by NPCIL to a consortium of BHEL and Alstom cover the supply and installation of turbogenerator packages for Kakrapar 3&4, the first indigenously designed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors. The contracts are worth over INR 16,000 million ($360 million), with BHEL's share representing around INR 8000 million ($198 million). The first contract covers the supply of the actual turbine generator packages, while the second covers associated services. BHEL and Alstom will jointly manufacture and supply the steam turbines, while BHEL will manufacture and supply the generator, moisture separator reheater and condenser, as well as undertaking the complete erection and commissioning of the turbine generator package. In August 2012 NPCIL awarded an INR 19,060 million ($343 million) contract to BHEL-Alstom for turbine generators for Rajasthan 7&8. Under the contract, BHEL and Alstom will together manufacture and supply the steam turbines, while the manufacture and supply of the complete generator, moisture separator reheater and condenser – including the erection and commissioning of the turbine generator package – will be undertaken by BHEL.
BHEL is also supplying steam generators for one Kakrapar unit and Rajasthan 7&8. It will also supply and install the instrumentation and controls for the turbine island secondary circuit for Rajasthan 7&8. BHEL is also supplying, constructing and commissioning the complete conventional island for the 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor being built at Kalpakkam.
HCC (Hindustan Construction Co.) has built more than half of India's nuclear power capacity, notably all 6 units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project and also Kudankulam. It has an INR 8880 million ($160 million) contract for the main civil works for Rajasthan 7&8. It specializes in prestressed containment structures for reactor buildings. In September 2009 it formed a joint venture with UK-based engineering and project management firm AMEC PLC to undertake consulting services and nuclear power plant construction. HCC has an order backlog worth 10.5 billion rupees ($220 million) for nuclear projects from NPCIL and expects six nuclear reactors to be tendered by the end of 2010.
Areva signed an agreement with Bharat Forge Ltd in January 2009 to set up a joint venture in casting and forging nuclear components for both export and the domestic market, by 2012. BHEL expects to join this, and in June 2010 the UK's Sheffield Forgemasters became a technical partner with BHEL in a £30 million deal. The partners have shortlisted Dahej in Gujarat, and Krishnapatnam and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as possible sites.
In August 2010 GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) signed a preliminary agreement with India’s Tata Consulting Engineers, Ltd. to explore potential project design and workforce development opportunities in support of GEH’s future nuclear projects in India – notably the proposals for six ESBWR units – and around the world.
In April 2012 Atomenergomash was negotiating with potential Indian partners on localization of some production and design of equipment for nuclear power plants being built with Russian technology both in India and other Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. In 2010 a memorandum of understanding with Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (India) had been signed by Atomenergomash. A strategic visions agreement signed in December 2014 for strengthening cooperation in atomic energy with Russia mentioned that the two countries would explore “opportunities for sourcing materials, equipment and services from Indian industry for the construction of the Russian designed nuclear power plants in third countries.” In January 2016 the prime minister announced cooperation with Russia to increase Indian manufacturing content in future VVER reactors in India. In October 2016 the government and Rosatom reaffirmed the “active engagement of Indian manufacturing industry for local manufacturing in India of equipment and components for upcoming and future Russian-designed nuclear power projects.”
See also India section of Heavy Manufacturing of Power Plants.
Uranium resources and mining in India
India's uranium resources are modest, with 183,600 tonnes of uranium as identified resources in situ*, 160,000 tU of this as reasonably assured resources in situ and 23,600 tonnes as inferred resources in situ (to $260/kgU) at January 2015 in the OECD NEA 'Red Book'. In July 2015, 191,594 tU 'reserves' was claimed by the DAE. These are all in a high-cost category, and India expects to import an increasing proportion of its uranium fuel needs. In 2013 it was importing about 40% of uranium requirements. In July 2015 record annual domestic production of 1252 t U3O8 (1062 tU) was reported. However, 2015 production was only 385 tU.
* 38% vein-type deposits, 12% sandstone (Meghalaya), 12% unconformity (Lambapur-Peddagattu in AP), and 37% other – 'strata-bound' (Cuddapah basin, including Tummalapalle).
Exploration is carried out by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD).
Mining and processing of uranium is carried out by Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL), also a subsidiary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), in Jharkhand near Calcutta. Common mills are near Jaduguda (2500 t/day) and Turamdih (3000 t/day, expanding to 4500 t/day). Jaduguda ore is reported to grade 0.05-0.06%U. All Jharkhand mines are in the Singhbhum shear zone, and all are underground except Banduhurang. Another mill is at Tummalapalle in AP, expanding from 3000 to 4500 t/day.
In 2005 and 2006 plans were announced to invest almost US$ 700 million to open further mines: in Jharkand at Banduhurang, Bagjata and Mohuldih; in Meghalaya at Domiasiat-Mawthabah (with a mill); and in Telengana at Lambapur-Peddagattu (with mill 50km away at Seripally), both in Nalgonda district.
Most production is via acid leach, producing magnesium diuranate or uranium peroxide via ion exchange. At Tummalapalle alkaline leach is used to produce sodium diuranate.
The Jaduguda mine in Jharkhand was closed in September 2014 due to expiry of its mining licence, but this was renewed a few weeks later by the state government, and in December the East Singhbhum government gave approval to resume mining, subject to clearance from the forestry department, which was still awaited at the end of 2015. AMD quotes resources as 6816 tU (March 2014). Serious questions have been raised about health issues and environmental management.*
* To 2015, three separate health surveys were carried out by independent specialists. They concluded that alleged health effects were not caused by radiation. One medical team noted that the problems noted can be seen in any Indian village with similar socio-economic parameters. The radiation due to UCIL operations is negligible compared with natural background radiation.
In Jharkand, Banduhurang is India's first open cut mine and was commissioned in 2007. Bagjata is underground and was opened in December 2008, though there had been earlier small operations 1986-91. The Mohuldih underground mine was commissioned in April 2012. The new mill at Turamdih serving these mines was commissioned in 2008. It is 7 km from Mohuldih. Narwapahar and Bhatin are other underground mines in this area.
In Andhra Pradesh and Telengana there are three kinds of uranium mineralisation in the Cuddapah Basin, including unconformity-related deposits in the north of it.
In the north of the Basin, in Telengana, the new northern inland state subdivided from Andhra Pradesh in 2013, the Lambapur-Peddagattu project in Nalgonda district 110 km southeast of Hyderabad has environmental clearance for one open cut and three small underground mines (based on some 6000 tU resources at about 0.1%U) but faces local opposition. The central government had approved Rs 637 crore for the project, with processing to be at Seripally, 54 km away in Nalgonda district. In 2014 UCIL was preparing to approach the state government and renew its federal approvals for the project. A further deposit near Lambapur-Peddagattu is Koppunuru, in Guntur district of AP, now under evaluation, and Chitrial.
In the south of the Basin, the Tummalapalle belt with low-grade strata-bound carbonate uranium mineralisation is 160 km long, and appears increasingly prospective – AMD reports 37,000 tU in 15 km of it and over 100,000 tU overall, extending down dip to 1000 metres. Some secondary mineralisation is reported in the Srisailam sub-basin.
In August 2007 the government approved a new US$ 270 million underground mine and mill at Tummalapalle near Pulivendula in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, 300 km south of Hyderabad. Its resources have been revised upwards by AMD to 71,690 tU (March 2014) and its cost to Rs 19 billion ($430 million), and to the end of 2012 expenditure was Rs 11 billion ($202 million). First commercial production was in June 2012, using an innovative pressurised alkaline leaching process (this being the first time alkaline leaching is used in India). Production is expected to reach 220 tU/yr as sodium diuranate, and in 2013 mill capacity was being doubled at a cost of Rs 8 billion ($147 million). An expansion of or from the Tummalapalle project is the Kanampalle U project, with 38,000 tU reserves. Further southern mineralisation near Tummalapalle are Motuntulapalle, Muthanapalle, and Rachakuntapalle.
In Karnataka, to the west of north Cuddapah Basin, UCIL is planning a small underground uranium mine in the Bhima basin at Gogi in Gulbarga area from 2014, after undertaking a feasibility study, and getting central government approval in mid-2011, state approval in November 2011 and explicit state support in June 2012. A portable mill is planned for Diggi or Saidpur nearby, using conventional alkaline leaching. Total cost is about $135 million. Resources are 4250 tU at 0.1% (seen as relatively high-grade) including 2600 tU reserves, sufficient for 15 years mine life, at 127 tU/yr, from fracture/fault-controlled uranium mineralisation. UCIL plans also to utilise the uranium deposits in the Bhima belt from Sedam in Gulbarga to Muddebihal in Bijapur.
In Meghalaya, close to the Bangladesh border in the South West Khasi Hills, the Kylleng-Pyndengsohiong-Mawthabah – KPM – (known formerly as Domiasiat) mine project (near Nongbah-Jynrin) is on private land in a high rainfall area and has also faced longstanding local opposition partly related to land acquisition issues but also fanned by a campaign of fearmongering. For this reason, and despite earlier state government support in principle, UCIL was unable to get approval from the state government for the KPM open cut mine, though pre-project development had been authorised on 422 ha. Earlier there was federal environmental approval in December 2007 for a proposed uranium mine and processing plant here and for the Nongstin mine. There is sometimes violent opposition by NGOs to uranium mine development in the West Khasi Hills, including at KPM/Domiasiat and Wakhyn, which have estimated resources of 9500 tU and 8000 tU respectively. Tyrnai is a smaller deposit in the area. The status and geography of all these is not known, beyond AMD being reported as saying that UCIL is "unable to mine them because of socio-economic problems." Mining is not expected before 2017. In August 2016 the Meghalaya state government cancelled UCIL's lease in the South West Khasi Hills district to deliver a “strong message” against uranium mining in the state. At the end of 2016 AMD called for tenders for 15,000 metres of exploration drilling on the Nongiri Plateau in the South West Khasi Hills district.
Fracture/fault-controlled uranium mineralisation similar to that in Karnataka in the North Delhi Fold Belt is in the 130 km long Rohil belt in Sikar district in Rajasthan, with 6133 tU identified (March 2014).
AMD reports further uranium resources in Chattisgarh state (3380 tU), Himachal Pradesh (665 tU), Maharashtra (300 tU), and Uttar Pradesh (750 tU).
In Jharkhand UCIL has a small project to recover uranium from copper tailings, near Hindustan Copper's Rakha and Surda mines.
