Sanjeev Miglani and Paritosh Bansal report that India expects to seal a contract with Westinghouse Electric Co LLC to build six nuclear reactors in the first half of next year, a senior government official said, in a sign its $150 billion dollar nuclear power program is getting off the ground.
The proposed power plant in Prime Minister Narendra Modi home state of Gujarat will accelerate the India plans to build roughly 60 reactors, which would make it the second-biggest nuclear energy market in the world after China. India wants to dramatically increase its nuclear capacity to 63,000 megawatts(MW) by 2032, from 5,780 MW, as part of a broader push to move away from fossil fuels, cut greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the dangerous effects of climate change.
India is also expected to offer Russia a site in its southern state of Andhra Pradesh to build six reactors, on top of the six it is already expected to build in neighboring Tamil Nadu, Indian and Russian officials have said. Separately, India expects Japan, which supplies components used in most reactors, to ratify an agreement some time in the second quarter of 2016 to support its nuclear program, another senior Indian government source said. There are no more technical hurdles in the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the source said. French nuclear company Areva, which uses Japanese components, also has a deal to build six reactors in India, although restructuring within that company was likely to delay construction until 2017, the first official said.
Resource Portal for I2M Clients, Associates, and Geoscientists
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-