India's Nuclear Agreement

[nitesh]

India to ink nuclear deal with Kazakhstan by month-end - Economy and Politics - livemint.com

New Delhi: State-run Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd, or NPCIL, will enter into a nuclear cooperation pact with Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazatomprom this month-end.
“Kazakhstan has signed strategic agreements with Russia, China and Japan. A similar agreement will be signed with India during the Kazakhstan president’s visit (that starts on 23 January),” said Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for power and commerce.
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev will be the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations on 26 January.

“A team from Kazatomprom is coming next week to Mumbai to work out the details with NPCIL. One of the elements of this agreement is uranium supply from Kazatomprom,” Ramesh added.
While Kazatomprom wants a comprehensive nuclear agreement, India wants to leverage its agreement with Kazatomprom not only to source uranium but also use the Kazakhstan company’s 10% stake in Westinghouse Electric Corp. to tap nuclear power generation technology as well. Toshiba Corp. has a 67% stake in Westinghouse.
Westinghouse is among the overseas nuclear power generation equipment firms such as state-owned French energy firm Areva SA, GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc., a joint venture between General Electric Co. and Hitachi Ltd, and Russia’s Atomstroyexport that are in talks with NPCIL to supply 1,600MW reactors based on European technology.
Currently, only NPCIL, a public sector undertaking of the department of atomic energy, is mandated to set up nuclear plants in India. However, with India and the US having signed a historic nuclear deal, the atomic power sector is expected to be opened up to private and public sector firms.
Foreign nuclear power firms are eyeing Indian orders potentially worth $14 billion (Rs68,460 crore) after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in September allowed the country entry into nuclear commerce, from which it had been shut out for 34 years. India has signed bilateral nuclear cooperation deals with the US, France and Russia since.
“If we get reactors along with guaranteed fuel supply, it is welcome from any source as long as the reactor-building technology is reliable. However, we require enriched uranium fuel and the supplier needs to give that,” said R. Rajaraman, professor emeritus, theoretical physics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Kazakhstan is currently the world’s second largest producer of uranium after Australia. While Australia caters to 23% of the world’s uranium needs followed by Kazakhstan (15%), the central Asian country is expected to become the world’s largest producer by 2010.
India’s uranium reserves are estimated to be some 78,000 tonnes—around 0.8% of the world’s reserves—which can support around 10,000MW of generation. But delays in uranium mining projects have resulted in a demand-supply mismatch. As a result, the country’s 17 reactors are operating at 46% capacity because of a shortage of uranium, the fuel that powers them.
India will receive its first uranium imports in three decades from countries such as France and Canada by April, ending the isolation from nuclear commerce that ensued from its first atomic test, as reported by Mint on 9 December.
Out of India’s installed power generation capacity of at least 140,000MW, nuclear energy accounts for only 4,120MW. NPCIL plans to create additional generating capacity of 3,160MW by 2012 and achieve 20,000MW of installed nuclear power capacity by 2020.
According to KPMG’s India Energy Outlook report, the department of atomic energy hopes to build 250,000MW nuclear capacity by 2050 to meet power requirements.

 

[nitesh]

AEC wants 10-year tax rebate for nuclear power plants beyond 2010- Policy-Economy-News-The Economic Times

AEC wants 10-year tax rebate for nuclear power plants beyond 2010
12 Jan 2009, 0015 hrs IST, Anto Antony, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: Nuclear power plants that come into operation after 2010 may still be able to enjoy ten-year tax holiday if a recommendation by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) is accepted by the government.

AEC has sought tax relief on income from power generation business to be extended to companies that start nuclear power generation before March 31, 2020. As per the current provision in the Income-Tax Act, income arising from power generation is exempt from tax for 10 years if the units begin operation between April 1, 1993 and March 31, 2010.

A senior government official, who did not wish to named, said: “None of the units that will be set up for generation of nuclear power will be able to start power generation before March 31, 2010 and hence won’t be able to claim tax exemption under the current norms.” He said the tax exemption was very crucial to scale up nuclear power production to 20,000 mw by 2020.

With India signing nuclear deals with more countries, it may be able to scale up nuclear power production to 60,000 mw by 2030.

Government estimates show that nuclear energy accounts for 2.9% of India’s installed capacity of 146,753 mw at the end of October 2008. Cost of nuclear power generation would be as competitive as power generated from thermal plants using coal, another government official said. Moreover, power can become costly if generated by a station situated more than 800 kilometres away from a coal line.

The income-tax holiday will make investments in nuclear power generation business more attractive for private sector players. Domestic and foreign companies are exploring ways to benefit from nuclear commerce in India. A nuclear trade mission lead by the US-India Business Council and the Nuclear Energy Institute, is visiting India this week to explore opportunities available in nuclear commerce with India.

The mission includes over 51 senior executives representing around 34 of the world’s leading commercial nuclear companies including GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc, The Shaw Group, Westinghouse, Black & Veatch, Bechtel Nuclear, CH2M Hill, Babcock &Wilcox, Uranium One, Thorium Power and USEC, among others.

 

[nitesh]

India requires Rs.1.5 lakh crore for meeting nuclear power targets- Infrastructure-Economy-News-The Economic Times

India requires Rs.1.5 lakh crore for meeting nuclear power targets
12 Jan 2009, 2129 hrs IST, IANS

NEW DELHI: India will have to invest Rs.1.5 trillion in nuclear power plants if it is to meet an ambitious target of generating 63,000 mega watts (MW) from nuclear power by the year 2020, a leading parliamentarian said Monday.

"India would require Rs.1.5 lakh crore (Rs.1.5 trillion) if we are to meet the target of generating 63,000 MW using nuclear power. This is possible only through the public private partnership route," said Abhishek M. Singhvi, member of parliament and chairman, India-US Forum of Parliamentarians.

"This requires amendment to the Atomic Energy Act and new legislation like the Liability Act," he said while addressing a US delegation of civil nuclear power companies which is here to expedite talks with the government and understand policy issues.

India's nuclear programme is worth $160 billion in nuclear technology and components.

"The Indian government needs to operationalise many protocols expeditiously, so that private companies from the two countries can step in," said Steve Hucik, general manager of GE-Hitachi Nuclear and leader of the US delegation.

 

[nitesh]

Aussie PM to visit India, uranium high on agenda

 

[nitesh]

GE-Hitachi eyes 9,000 MW nuclear capacity in India | Business News | Reuters

 

[nitesh]

UPDATE 1-India L&T to partner Toshiba unit for nuclear power | Reuters

 

[nitesh]

good read

India Today - India's most widely read magazine.

 

[Zaheerkhan]

The French company AREVA and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) have signed a commercial agreement for the supply of 300 tons of uranium to India.

France first to get piece of Indian N-pie

The French company AREVA will supply 300 tonnes of uranium to the Indian public undertaking NPCIL

On December 17th, 2008, the French company AREVA and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) signed a commercial agreement for the supply by AREVA of 300 tons of uranium to the public undertaking Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The uranium will be used in NPCIL nuclear reactors under IAEA safeguards.

This contract is a new milestone in the development of the civil nuclear cooperation between France and India. It carries out the will of the two countries to broaden and boost their partnership, pursuant to the Joint Statement issued on January 25th, 2008 on the occasion of the State visit of President Nicolas SARKOZY to India. The cooperation to be implemented by AREVA and NPCIL comes within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement betwen the French Republic and the Republic of India on the development of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, signed in Paris on September 30th, 2008.

Link:[Welcome to France-in-india website]


France first to get piece of Indian N-pie, to supply 300 tonnes of Uranium and to build 6 Nuclear Reactors

NEW DELHI: Stealing a march over US, Russia and UK, France will take the first bite of the lucrative Indian nuclear pie. Over the next few
months, France will deliver 300 tonnes of enriched uranium to India, and by the end of this year will have a contract for six nuclear reactors.

After meeting PM Manmohan Singh and national security adviser MK Narayanan, Jean-David Levitte, diplomatic adviser to French president Nicholas Sarkozy, told journalists on Saturday that France was on track to translate the Indo-French nuclear agreement into action. Areva, which has been selected as one of the top vendors of reactors and technology by the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL), will be able to generate electricity from these reactors within eight years.

In a way, the French scored a significant diplomatic victory. This one week is peppered with nuclear business delegations from US and UK crisscrossing India to tie up a variety of deals with the Indian government or with private sector players for the ancillary market.

On Friday, US nuclear company Westinghouse and India's Larsen & Toubro signed on the dotted line to set up a joint venture to build nuclear reactors in India. But while that will have to wait for India to make the necessary legal and regulatory changes to allow the private sector into the game, France is dealing directly with the government entity, as does Russia.

On Monday, British secretary Lord Peter Mandelson arrives with a nuclear business delegation, including companies like AMEC and Rolls Royce, all of whom want a part of the Indian nuclear energy industry.

India still needs to sign the safeguards agreement with the IAEA and a law to give liability protection to companies investing in this sector. Before the IAEA agreement, India will have to iron out several left-over issues with, among others, Canada to bring the older reactors under the new umbrella agreement.

Internally, India will also need to amend its Atomic Energy Act to bring private sector into this industry. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is still severely opposed to this, but it's expected that industry pressure and the fact that DAE is quite unequipped to handle the avalanche of demands of the civilian sector might tip the scales sooner rather than later. This will delay the entry of US companies in this sector. The new Obama administration will also have to sign a nuclear information sharing agreement for these companies to work in India.

Until then, the French plan on getting a firm toehold in this sector, citing a decade-long relationshwip with NPCIL and a first-mover advantage.

Levitte's conversations with the Indian leadership included talks on defence acquisitions. France is offering to build with Indian companies the engines for the light combat aircraft (LCA).

Thus far, the Indian plan is for reactor contracts to go to Westinghouse, GE Hitachi, France's Areva group, and Russia's Atomstroyexport.

Link:France first to get piece of Indian N-pie-India-The Times of India

 

[Zaheerkhan]

This is a landmark ground breaking development. 300 tonnes of enriched uranium from a member of the European Union is a great thing. Now, procurement of enriched uranium from the international market will be easy for India. And all this without ever signing the NPT, my God..Bismillah..

 

[beetel]

This is a landmark ground breaking development. 300 tonnes of enriched uranium from a member of the European Union is a great thing. Now, procurement of enriched uranium from the international market will be easy for India. And all this without ever signing the NPT, my God..Bismillah..

How much cost .what is the energy value..

 

[Neo]

Threads merged.

 

[nitesh]

NDTV.com: UK, Canada eye India's nuclear business

UK, Canada eye India's nuclear business
Press Trust of India
Sunday, January 18, 2009, (New Delhi)

The race among countries for getting nuclear business in India is hotting up with delegations rushing here to discuss opportunities in this field.

While France has already walked away with a contract in the multi-billion dollar industry, high-level delegations from Britain and Canada will be here this week to interact with Indian side to explore possibilities for cooperation in the nuclear field.

The visits by the British and Canadian delegations come close on the heels of a similar trip by a team of the US nuclear industry here over a week back for a similar purpose.

The flurry of visits come more than three months after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) granted waiver to India, ending its 34-year isolation and allowing it to have civil nuclear trade with the world.

A 20-member delegation, headed by British Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise Lord Peter Mandelson, will be here from Monday.

Mandelson and the delegation will also visit Mumbai and Pune.

The business delegation accompanying Mandelson will have executives from civil nuclear companies such as AMEC and Rolls Royce.

In Delhi, Mandelson will meet Commerce Minister Kamal Nath and some other ministers. He will also address the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit and attend a seminar with the accompanying UK nuclear delegation.

 

[nitesh]

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Chennai, Jan 19 (IANS) Scientists and engineers at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) are hoping to save around Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore or $104 million) by modifying the design of four fast reactors on the anvil for nuclear power plants.

"The proposed reactors are going to be different in many ways from the prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) designed by us and which are under construction," IGCAR director Baldev Raj told IANS.

With the Rs.35-billion PFBR project progressing at good pace at Kalpakkam, 80 km from here, the Indian government has sanctioned building of four more 500 MW fast reactors.

A breeder reactor is one that breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes, so that the reaction - that ultimately produces electricity - can continue.

The Indian fast reactors will be fuelled by a blend of plutonium and uranium oxide.

While the reactor will use fission plutonium for power production, it will also breed more plutonium than what it uses from the natural uranium.

The surplus plutonium from each fast reactor can be used to set up more such reactors and grow the nuclear capacity in tune with India's needs.

These reactors are also called fast spectrum reactors since the neutrons coming from the fission will not be moderated. Two of the proposed reactors will come up in Kalpakkam, the site for which has been approved, while the location for the remaining two are yet to be finalised.

According to Raj, the four reactors will be designed to last 60 years - an increase of 20 years over PFBR's current life span.

"The blueprint for the four oxide fuel fast reactors is ready. The roadmap for research and development will be ready next month," reactor engineering group director S.C. Chetal told IANS.

According to him, the idea is to sell power at Rs.2 per unit as compared to Rs.3.20 per unit from PFBR; hence the effort to reduce the capital cost.

Detailing the cost-cutting steps, Chetal said: "The proposed reactors will be built as twin units. That means many of the facilities will be shared by the two reactors, which in turn saves capital and running costs."

For instance, there will be fewer welding points, making the reactors safer and more economical.

"The savings will be achieved from reduced material consumption through innovative design design," said P. Chellapandi, director, safety group.

Chellapandi said the safety vessel of the proposed reactors will be smaller than the one installed inside the PFBR's reactor vault: its diameter will be reduced to 11.5 metres from 12.9 metres.

"A reduction of one metre will result in an overall saving of Rs.25 crore (Rs.250 million) on material, fabrication and civil construction."

The new design fast reactors will have six steam generators as against eight in the PFBR and changes will be made in the grid plate, sodium and reactor shutdown systems.

With the experience gained from fabricating giant equipment and the country embarking on a major fast-breeder reactor programme, vendors should be able to lower price.

These apart, the focus will be on sourcing local components and raw materials to save costs. Imports for PFBR consist of sodium and high grade steel, both sourced from France.

"The design changes in the proposed reactors do not mean PFBR is over-designed. The proposed changes will be realistic or less conservative," said Chellapandi.

With the experience gained from PFBR, the new projects can be completed in five years as against seven years, the officials feel.

Work on two more fast breeder reactors to start

Chennai, Jan 19 (IANS) Plans for two more fast breeder reactors at the nuclear power complex in Kalpakkam near here are proceeding fast, even as India's first 500 MW fast breeder nuclear reactor plant is fast coming up at the complex.

The fast breeder reactor operating company Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (Bhavini) will soon start pre project activities for the construction of two more reactors at Kalpakkam, 80 km from this Tamil Nadu capital.

A breeder reactor is one that breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. The reaction produces energy that is used in the form of electricity.

The Indian fast reactors will be fuelled by a blend of plutonium and uranium oxide.

While the reactor will break up (fission) plutonium for power production, it will also breed more plutonium than it consumes. The original plutonium comes from natural uranium.

The surplus plutonium from each fast reactor can be used to set up more such reactors and grow the nuclear capacity in tune with India's energy needs.

These reactors are also called fast spectrum reactors since the neutrons coming from the fission will not be moderated.

"Having got the approval from the site selection committee, we are taking the next step of preparing the site for construction," Prabhat Kumar, project director, told IANS.

According to him the pre project activities such as levelling the site, laying of roads, setting up assembly shops and others will "get started next fiscal and would require substantial sums". But he did not give a specific number.

The government has sanctioned construction of four more 500 MW fast reactors of which two will be housed inside the existing nuclear island at Kalpakkam and expected to be ready by 2020.

Decision on locating the remaining two fast reactors is yet to be taken.

The proposed reactors will also be powered by mixed oxide fuel - a blend of plutonium and uranium oxides - like the upcoming 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) in the same complex.

Similarly, construction of the Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility is expected to start soon.

The facility will have a fuel reprocessing plant, fuel fabrication plant, core sub-assembly plant, reprocessed uranium oxide plant and waste management plant.

The facility will not only fabricate the mixed oxide fuel and fuel sub assemblies for the fast reactors at Kalpakkam but also reprocess and refabricate the spent fuel that comes out of these reactors.

The purpose of fuel reprocessing facility is to recover and use the fissile and fertile component in the spent fuel.

"The facility would involve an outlay of around Rs.20 billion (Rs.2,000 crore/$411 million) and will be ready by 2014 so as to reprocess the spent fuel from PFBR," Baldev Raj, director, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), told IANS.

The PFBR, expected to go on stream sometime at the end of 2010, will have its fuel fabricated at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai.

According to Raj, co-locating the fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities has several advantages - in terms of safety, security and logistics - which in turn makes the effort economical.

"Similarly there will be a separate facility for the two other proposed 500 MW fast reactors," he added.

In addition, IGCAR is also building a lab-sized reprocessing plant for metallic fuel - the fuel of future fast reactors.

India's nuclear establishment has decided to go for metallic fuel as it enables faster breeding of plutonium than is consumed for energy generation.

These facilities will be in addition to the existing plant at Kalpakkam that reprocesses the spent fuel from the Madras Atomic Power Station and the Fast Breeder Test Reactor.

IANS

 

[nitesh]

AFP: India welcomes Canada's involvement in its nuclear expansion: minister

India welcomes Canada's involvement in its nuclear expansion: minister

7 hours ago

OTTAWA (AFP) — India welcomes Canada's "strong involvement" in the expansion of its nuclear power capacity, Canada's Trade Minister Stockwell Day said Wednesday.

Day, on a four-day visit to the world's most populous democracy, also indicated in a statement that Canada aims to finalize a bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement with India "as soon as possible."

"I was encouraged by the very positive response I received from the ministers with whom I met," Day said after meeting with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan and Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal.

"They made it clear that India welcomes the strong involvement of Canadian nuclear companies in this expanding market," he said.

As well, the two nations agreed to start exploratory discussions toward "a comprehensive economic partnership agreement," he said.

India is expected to significantly expand its civilian nuclear program over the next 20 years to meet its growing energy needs.

This will create market opportunities worth up to 50 billion dollars (39 billion US) for firms able to offer technology, equipment and uranium.

The nuclear deal with Canada was the fourth such agreement India has signed after a decision in September by the Nuclear Suppliers Group to waive its ban on the trading of atomic technology with New Delhi.

The trade embargo was imposed after India tested nuclear weapons in 1974, and again in 1998, and refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The United States, Russia and France are the other powers to have signed agreements with New Delhi but former Cold War ally Russia remains so far the only state actively involved in building reactors in the country.

 

[nitesh]

Punj Lloyd-Thorium JV to pump in $1 billion

L&T, Canada firm ink MOU to develop nuclear reactor