India's Nuclear Agreement

[nitesh]

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Washington, October 9: Describing the US President's signing into law the legislation on the nuclear deal as a "new beginning" in bilateral ties, India has said its concerns on certain provisions of the bill have been met with George W Bush's assurance on fuel supplies and 'advanced consent' to it for reprocessing.

"Absolutely", remarked Indian Ambassador to the US, Ronen Sen, when asked by reporters if the President's address at the signing of the legislation met all of India's concerns.

"I think the statement (of Bush) speaks for itself... all concerns that have been expressed who fear the implications of certain elements of the legislation. All those have been met," Sen said in response to a query on fuel supply assurances.

Bush, while signing the HR 7081 bill into law last night, had said there were "no changes" in fuel supply commitments as provided in the 123 Agreement and added India had also been granted "advanced consent" for reprocessing.

There were fears that the legislation as approved by the Congress may have a couple of riders regarding fuels supplies.

"I am confident because we negotiated the 123 Agreement with great care and I was confident right from the beginning that many of concerns that had been expressed would be met like they have been in the past," the top Indian envoy said shortly after Bush signed the nuclear deal Bill into law.

The top Indian diplomat was pressed on about the fear that Washington could approach others in the Nuclear Suppliers Group to cut off fuel in the event of an atomic test by India.

"I think we can keep on having questions and discussions repeatedly. I feel we should be a little more confident of ourselves. We should have a little bit more self esteem and we should not always require these re-assurances. We should grow up... I feel this very strongly," Sen replied.

"This President has exceeded our expectations on each and every issue. I firmly believe this President has contributed in an extraordinary manner. He would be remembered in history as opening up a new chapter in our relationship," Sen said.

The Indian envoy said the ties between the countries have now truly transformed into a strategic partnership in "every sense of the word".

"This is a beginning in a way. It is a successful conclusion of a process that had often been tortuous and some people had doubts at times -- genuine doubts and genuine concerns. And there has been a debate in our country, which has been a serious debate. But at the end of it we have in a sense reached a conclusion of this process," the Ambassador said.

"We are not quite there. The final will be the signing of this agreement which will essentially represent commitments of the two countries," Sen said. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will sign the agreement tomorrow with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State department.

"This is a new beginning where we will have a door opened which will lead to more doors and windows of opportunity and that process will continue. In that sense there is much we can do to build upon this agreement which will provide us new opportunities in the field of energy that will not only address our energy security concern but also mark the end of a broader technology denial regime that has been in place for more than three decades," Ambassador Sen said.

"So in that sense both in the bilateral context and the global context it opens up many new avenues. All these will directly benefit the people of India and contribute to the well being of all citizens of our country," he added.

 

[Marshal]

Juts wait year or soo and then we will evaluate if it was good or bad for India. The good so far is that NPT and CTBT is dead.

and after year or so what would be the parameter to judge it as a bad deal???

 

[nitesh]

This is also a face of nuclear deal that was missed earlier but now coming out, way to go

The Hindu : Front Page : DAE exhibition at Vienna focuses on thorium use

DAE exhibition at Vienna focuses on thorium use

Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: A pavilion organised by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) at Vienna, Austria, from September 29 to October 4, 2008, with a focus on using thorium for large-scale, world-wide generation of nuclear electricity was a star attraction, according to S.K. Malhotra, Head, Environment and Public Awareness Division, DAE.

The pavilion was put up during the 52nd annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General, IAEA, who visited it along with Anil Kakodkar, Secretary, DAE, appreciated India’s efforts in harnessing thorium for generation of electricity, Mr. Malhotra said.

Several countries put up exhibitions on general themes of nuclear energy but India’s exhibition on a specific theme drew attention. India has huge reserves of thorium in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

The DAE plans to start construction of a novel reactor called the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which will generate 300 MWe, using thorium and uranium-233 as fuel.

“What we proposed through this exhibition was that a nuclear fuel cycle based on thorium will address both the concerns and this is due to its neutronic and material properties,” Mr. Malhotra said. Thorium could be introduced in different types of reactors such us Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, Light Water Reactors, Boiling Water Reactors and AHWRs.

R.K. Sinha. Director, Reactor Design and Development Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, gave a presentation on October 3 in Vienna on “Extending the global reach of nuclear energy through thorium.”

 

[nitesh]

Ok so this should silence the "costly nuclear energy" debate

http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=336904

'Nuclear power will be competitively priced'
Q&A: S K JAIN
Vandana Gombar & P B Jayakumar / Mumbai October 10, 2008, 0:55 IST

With the US President George W Bush signing the Indo-US nuclear bill, India is looking at a more than seven-fold capacity increase over the next decade, to about 30,000 Mw. While there are many challenges to overcome from land acquisition to employee attrition, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd’s (NPCIL is the only company authorised to build nuclear power plants in India) CMD Dr Sreyans Kumar Jain is confident the power will be competitively priced. Excerpts from an interview with Vandana Gombar and PB Jayakumar:

How soon will the first results of the nuclear deal be visible?

There are three major suppliers of light water reactors — the US, France and Russia. We still have to sign the deal with the US; the Inter-governmental Agreement (IGA) with the French has been signed and needs to be ratified; the IGA with the Russian Federation is slated to be signed during the first week of December when the Russian president is expected to visit India.

In the last three years, we’ve had detailed discussions with all the four vendors — General Electric, Westinghouse, Areva and Rosatom. To begin with, we are planning to negotiate with each one of them for one pair of reactors each (not less than 1000 Mw) with the clear understanding that there will be a basket of such reactors, that the relationship would extend to 6-8 reactors. You can’t start the construction of all the 20-30 reactors simultaneously. How soon will the reactors get operationalised?
We have two sites today, at Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu) and Jaitapur (Maharashtra) and the Russians are already working at the first one, so it is natural we would like to continue with their technology there. We are expecting the government to announce two more sites very soon from among the four shortlisted coastal sites at Gujarat, Andhra, Orissa and West Bengal. It takes at least 24 months for a greenfield site to be ready, and about 60 months thereafter.

How will you keep costs competitive if you’re not bidding out the contracts?

We’ve indicated very clearly to all the vendors that there are no subsidies and so the power has to compete with other energy resources in the country. So the project proposals, which will be jointly worked out, must ensure that the tariff is comparable to that from any thermal plant.

The benchmark price from the Sasan ultra-mega project is Rs 1.20 per unit …
That’s the ‘levellised’ cost – since our project life is 60 years, we’ll be better on that. Today’s tariff for Sasan will be Rs 4-4.5 while our tariff will not be more than Rs 4 per unit, and that includes the cost of everything including waste disposal and decommissioning.

And the funding?

We have enough cash to fund the equity to support 10,000 Mw and can go to the government for more. As for debt, we could borrow domestically or abroad or even get soft government credit/vendor financing. It all depends upon the terms.

How many of the 17 reactors in operation are eligible for imported fuel?

Including the five under construction, we’re talking of 22 reactors. Six are already covered under safeguards because they have been constructed with foreign collaboration — at Tarapore, Rajasthan and Kudankumlum. There is a plan to bring 8 more reactors under safeguards. So, 14 will be in the so-called civilian domain as per the separation plan. These would be run with imported fuel.

Is 40,000 Mw by 2020 realistic? We’ve just 4,000 Mw in the last 40 years...

Even if you have the money, there isn’t enough production capability. 30,000 Mw is more realistic.

You will soon have private sector competition, or are these companies trying to partner with you?

The country needs more than one agency to meet the power requirement. But before opening up, we need to frame rules and regulations. Nuclear power plants can’t just be shut down like the Enron one was. They require the same kind of attention whether they’re operational or shut. So we need to ensure that all the players who want to enter have the right credentials, that their business interests don’t override their commitment. Today, our country has given assurances that we have a sound material accounting system — this means each gram of nuclear material which comes to this country is accounted for. So naturally there has to be some mechanism to work out how the accounting will be done for all private players who get this fuel. What happens to the spent fuel? Who will have waste handling responsibility? These are some issues for which government policies are to be spelled out and regulations developed. All this can be done in 2-3 years.

Are you looking an IPO?

If required, we can have one, there is no restriction. NPCIL’s board is empowered to take that decision.

What is your main challenge today?

The main challenge is to realise the opportunities. The debate on the deal has become a household word and the euphoria is very high. People have no idea of how much time it takes to really get the power from a nuclear power plant. When it comes to land acquisition, the issues are same whether it is for a Nano or for a nuclear power plant. We will also have to work out some innovative method of taking over land from existing holders. Maybe we could give them a stake in our plant because whatever compensation you give looks handsome today, but in few years, it goes down the drain — in celebrating birthdays and marriages. Maybe all these people should be stakeholders.

 

[nitesh]

This barrier will go down early it seems

The Hindu News Update Service
Review stand on uranium sale to India: Australian opposition
Melbourne (PTI): Australian Opposition parties on Thursday pressed the Federal Government to review its stand on selling uranium to India, saying the current "hypocritical" policy will hurt the mining companies with New Delhi back into the nuclear club.

The Opposition parties also reminded the Government that it did not object to NSG waiver for India.

"Now that the US-India agreement has been made law, the Rudd government is in an untenable position by refusing to allow the sale of Australian uranium to India under the same terms, conditions and International Atomic Energy Agency inspection program as Australian uranium sales to China," Opposition resources spokesman Ian Macfarlane said.

"This is the same agreement that Australia approved last month, as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, yet the government persists with its ideological and patronising refusal to allow a similar deal between India and Australia.

"This unsustainable position comes at the expense of local jobs in the Australian resources sector, which is being denied access to the substantial market and major investment opportunities," Macfarlane was quoted as saying by AAP.

The Government led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has insisted that it will not sell uranium to India while the country remains outside the non-proliferation treaty.

Macfarlane said India will need extensive reserves of clean energy to meet the needs of its growing population while lowering its greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.

"With the world's most extensive reserves of uranium, Australia is well positioned to meet that demand," he said.

"But the government's obstructionist approach and unsustainable double standards are holding us back and standing in the way of jobs growth and new export opportunities for the resources sector," he said.
The Hindu News Update Service

 

[nitesh]

One nuclear deal done, more lined up

One nuclear deal done, more lined up

New Delhi, October 11 With External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signing the Indo-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement, India is now working towards a December deadline to conclude different inter-governmental agreements and then operationalise commercial deals by signing the IAEA safeguards agreement.
Early December is when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit India, and when the Indo-Russian agreement for civil nuclear cooperation will be signed. With intense pressure from the US, Russia and France to effect long-term commercial deals, sources said, India has decided to operationalise all three agreements simultaneously. In fact, France is said to be keen on starting uranium supply immediately and wants India to sign the agreement that would allow Areva to set up European Pressurised Reactors in India.

Looking beyond, India has extended an invitation to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev to be the chief guest at this year’s Republic Day Parade. Kazakhstan has 15 per cent of the world’s uranium reserves and is an important prospective seller for India. Negotiations are also underway with Niger for uranium, shortage of which is currently hampering the Indian programme.

While Australia, which has the world’s largest uranium reserves, is restricted by its policy not to sell nuclear fuel to countries that have not signed the NPT, sources said possibilities are being explored to sell from Africa, where some Australian companies own mines, as Canberra does not want to lag behind in bidding for the Indian market.

 

[Goodperson]

Seeing how soon the Nuclear deal was Bulldozed, Expect some significant deals soon, especially since Bush is nearing the end of his Presidentship and its next year is election year for India. Otherwise I donot see any reason for such a haste.

 

[nitesh]

Yes there is a haste but not related to election and all. The plan is going on from long time. Already separation plan has been proposed, so now fuel needs to be imported asap for existing reactors as well as once new reactors starts coming in for them fuel is needed (New reactors will come in 5 years time line same can be said about getting mines and then getting them ready to mine). Strategic reserve has to be made.
Private sector entry has to be cleared in. All in all lot of work needs to be done.

 

[nitesh]

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/9EA8B125B8F5E0EE652574E000331E19?OpenDocument

India to focus on time-bound projects with Russia, France & US

Mumbai, Oct 12 (PTI) With the historic signing of 123 agreement with the US, India now will focus on time bound projects with that country as well as France and Russia under the technical cooperation for the expansion of its nuclear power.

The signing of 123 agreement with the US is an enabling step to move forward in the expansion of nuclear power in the country. But India along with these three countries has to carry out a lot of diplomatic and technical procedures concurrently to operationalise the agreements, Chairman, Atomic Energy commission, Dr Anil Kakodkar, who returned from US last night, told PTI.

Several steps, including ratification of these agreements, commercial negotiations and IAEA safeguards, have to be carried out, he said.

India will first put Tarapur units 1 and 2, Rajasthan units 1 and 2 and Koodankulam units 1 and 2 that are already under separate safeguards agreement with IAEA under the single umbrella of India specific safeguards agreement, Kakodkar said.

"Of course, before placing the Indian reactors under IAEA safeguards as per the separation plan, it is important to kick-start the nuclear cooperation and that is very crucial," he said.

Meanwhile, the American and the French companies are expected to begin their serious discussions shortly with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), a government of India undertaking that deals with nuclear power. PTI

 

[nitesh]

NPCIL to order 2,000 tn uranium by yr-end

NPCIL to order 2,000 tn uranium by yr-end

Bloomberg / Mumbai October 12, 2008, 0:01 IST

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), the country’s monopoly atomic energy generator, plans to place orders for as much as 2,000 metric tonnes of uranium, equal to almost a fifth of Japan’s annual demand, before the end of 2008 to ensure fuel supplies.

NPCIL is in talks for long-term contracts and is also willing to invest up to $1 billion to buy stakes in as many as four uranium mines overseas, Chairman Shreyans Kumar Jain said in a telephone interview from Mumbai today.

India, where homes and industry suffer peak power shortages of as much as 17 per cent, will buy nuclear power reactors and uranium for the first time after a US-backed deal helped end a three-decade ban. The South Asian nation needs the radioactive fuel to fire the 28 reactors it plans to build to meet its target of adding 40,000 megawatts of nuclear generation by 2020.

“The next step is to ensure fuel supplies for our ongoing and planned projects,” Jain said. “We need long-term supplies and we’re looking to buy stakes in assets.”

President George W Bush on October 8 signed into law approval for US companies such as General Electric to sell India atomic fuel and technology. A group of 45 nuclear-supplier nations waived international restrictions on India last month.

NPCIL has approached companies in Canada, Kazakhstan, Africa and members of the Russian Federation for long-term supply contracts, he said. The company is also examining possible joint ventures in mining and buying stakes in uranium mines that haven’t been developed because of lack of funds.

Canada’s Cameco Corporation, the world’s largest supplier of uranium, said it is interested in selling the fuel to India “as soon as legally possible”.

The lifting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) ban “opens up the Indian nuclear market to the world and Cameco is looking forward to having access to that market,” Lyle Krahn, spokesman for Cameco, said on September 12.

“It’s a potential new source of demand for uranium.”

The state-run explorer’s current estimated consumption is 1.2 million pounds of uranium to supply 4,120 megawatts capacity at 17 plants across India, many of which are running below capacity for want of fuel.”

NPCIL is yet to approach Australia for supplies, Jain said. Australia, home to the world’s biggest-known reserves, reiterated on September 11 that it won’t sell uranium to countries that haven’t signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

JPMorgan Chase & Co cut its forecast for uranium prices through 2010 because of increased spot-market sales of the radioactive metal in September and the potential for the credit freeze to slow nuclear power project development.

Spot prices may average $65.98 a pound this year, down from an earlier forecast of $69.62, JPMorgan said in a report. It cut its 2009 forecast by 14 per cent to $64.75 and the 2010 estimate by 4.7 per cent to $71.50.

India is planning to spend as much as $14 billion to buy nuclear reactors from suppliers such as France’s Areva SA, US- based General Electric Co and Westinghouse Electric Co, Jain said in an earlier interview on September 8.

Uranium, a heavy metal, is concentrated through an enrichment process to produce fuel for a reactor.

 

[nitesh]

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?...TnAQB4AAADMQCoS&bcsi_scan_filename=report.asp

NPCIL eyes 80% localisation in nuclear tech
Promit Mukherjee
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 03:43 IST

First pair of reactors in XIth 5-Year Plan

MUMBAI: The transfer of nuclear technology from the United States to India, a prolonged painstaking debate that has changed political equations in the country, may not be required 20 years from now.
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), the only entity authorised to generate nuclear power in India, is aiming at an 80% indigenisation of the technology that the country will be sourcing a couple of weeks from now.

S K Jain, chairman and managing director, NPCIL, said, “We have a dream of reaching 80% localisation of equipment and technology in 20 years from now.”

He said that NPCIL would initiate the process of setting up the first pair of reactors under the government’s XIth Five-Year Plan. This will be based on imported technology — the reactors and other equipment will be sourced from suppliers abroad.
Jain said the next pair of reactors would come in another four to five years and the process would continue thereafter. “Every subsequent step of importing will bring some percentage of indigenisation and eventually in 20 years, 80% indigenisation will be reached,” he said.

This means that in addition to taking up construction and installation work at the plant site, NPCIL is likely to manufacture the equipment it is currently planning to import. Jain said the localisation process takes time as two pairs of reactors cannot be initiated simultaneously at the same site even if the company has the funds to install them. NPCIL is planning to source ten 1,000-mw reactors from companies in the US, the UK, France and Russia. “We are talking to GE and Westinghouse of the US, Areva in France and Rossatom of Russia. A final decision is yet to be taken,” said Jain.

The company will also be sourcing fuel, especially uranium, from these countries. “Though our current uranium reserves are sufficient to take our capacity to 10,000 mw indigenously, we cannot exploit them as there are a lot of environmental issues that need to be addressed,” said Jain.

He said a committee at the ministerial level has been formed to look into the uranium supply issue and a positive development is expected soon.

India has a three-stage nuclear power programme. The first stage involves the use of indigenous uranium in pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) to produce fissile plutonium in addition to nuclear power. (A fissile substance has the ability to sustain a chain reaction and fuel nuclear reactors).

In the second stage, by reprocessing the spent nuclear fuel and using the recovered plutonium in fast breeder reactors, the non-fissile depleted uranium, with another radioactive substance thorium, can be made to breed additional fissile nuclear fuel, plutonium and uranium-233. In the third stage, thorium and uranium 233-based nuclear reactors can be made to generate nuclear power.

 

[nitesh]

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14775675&cid=20742

NPCIL to raise capacity 5-fold in five yearsPromit Mukherjee / DNA MONEY

Monday, 13 October , 2008, 15:23

The nuclear deal between India and the US has infused a new lease of life into the country's sole nuclear power company. The Nuclear Power Corp of India (NPCIL), which had so far managed to install 4120 mw of capacity, has set its eyes on an ambitious target of 22,000 mw in the next five years.

NPCIL: A multi-billion mart opening...

S K Jain, the chairman and managing director of NPCIL, tells DNA Money's Promit Mukherjee that the company is well equipped to grab the opportunity coming its way

If there had been no deal...

Today, NPCIL has 17 reactors under operation and five under construction, which will be commissioned to the grid next year. So then, we will have 22 reactors. This will have a total capacity of 4,400 mw based on heavy water.

The current five-year plan calls for eight reactors of 700 mw with our own technology and fuel. That will take the programme to 10,000 mw. This is the maximum that can be produced with the available resources of uranium in the country.

So, in the absence of a deal, we would have generated some 10,000 mw for the next 20 years. Plus another 2,000 mw by fast breeder reactors.

The subsequent stages, wherein we will be using plutonium and thorium, is a long-term programme, which will take another three to four decades.

Still this 10,000 mw would have been a problem, because of the difficulties in the country — environmental apprehensions over uranium mining kept mining projects from commencing, so mining could not keep pace with the nuclear power programme. As a result, the 17 reactors we have are operating at 50% capacity.

Even the eight units of 700 mw which will be taken up in the current five-year programme were actually supposed to be taken up in the last five-year programme.

Therefore, the expansion of nuclear capacity has been deferred by four to five years just because of the constraints of mining.

How much fuel will you need to run the reactors at 100% capacity?

There are already 6 reactors under safeguards. Out of these six, only one is a heavy water reactor, for which we require fuel. Eight more reactors that are proposed under the XIth five-year plan will be brought under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. For these nine reactors (1 heavy water + 8 new reactors), we require 400 tonne of natural fuel per year. And around 40 tonne of enriched uranium for Tarapur I and II and 60 tonne per year of enriched uranium for Kundakulam I and II.

When do you expect fuel deliveries?

There are two issues related to that — as per the timeframe, the eight reactors have to be placed under civilian domain in next four to five years. The immediate ones among these eight are three — Rajasthan II and Rajsthan V and VI. For these, we expect the fuel to be with us in next two to three months. And the requirement will be around 200 tonne per year.

When do you expect plants to run at 100% capacity? Will that be possible under the current five-year plan?

Definitely. We will achieve that in two to three years. It is actually linked to when we expect to bring our reactors under safeguards. If the government wants to expedite the situation, then we may achieve it even before the end of the five-year plan.

What kind of communication has there been between you and the ministry on the issue of fuel supply?

We were given a green signal long time back to do exploratory-preparatory talks with fuel suppliers in the world. In the last two to three years, we have been in discussions with several of them. So we have got a fairly good understanding of who the suppliers are.

They are spread across the world in countries such as Canada, the US, France and Russia and have indicated to us that they will not have any difficulty in supplying fuel once they are allowed to enter into contracts with India. So now since the deal is signed, it will not take more than two to three months to source fuel from these countries.

By the end of the XIth five-year plan, what will be the total capacity of NPCIL?

The total installed capacity of NPCIL will be 7,000 mw by March 2012 and it will be at a higher plant load factor (meaning, power generation will be above capacity).

In spite of running plants at a lower capacity, NPCIL is a profit-making company?

This is our worst year in terms of the fuel shortage situation. Earlier, a number of new reactors were coming in, but we had some uranium stock available with us, so we were able to run them at 70% capacity. Only last year, the capacity went down to 60% and this year, it's even less than 50%. So this year, definitely, the profits will be hit hard, in fact, very hard, and operational profits are going to be minimal.

Are you looking at revisiting your targets?

We initiated an exercise in 2006 when we were formulating the XIth five-year programme. At that time, we considered the possibility of expanding capacity considering that we will get access to foreign nuclear technology. We considered starting work on ten imported light water reactors of 1,000 mw each, which translates into 10,000 mw through imported route.

Therefore, the total comes out to be eight reactors of 700 mw based on indigenous technology and 10 reactors of 1,000 mw, each based on imported technology. This can add 15,600 mw to the NPCIL capacity, which is huge as far as nuclear power is concerned.

What is the current status of these ten reactors?

It is already 2008-end and we are hoping to start work on these reactors in four to six weeks. It takes a minimum of two years for starting work on a greenfield site. Simultaneously, we will carry forward our techno-commercial negotiation with vendor countries for the reactors they are offering to us. This entire process will take 24-30 months, then the plants can be started.

So we will not get the benefit of it in the current five-year programme, but the projects will be launched. And in the next five years, all these plants will be generating power at full capacity. Therefore, five years from now, NPCIL will have a capacity of 22,000 mw from the current 4120 mw.

What technology will you import?

As far as light water reactors are concerned, the design will definitely come from the vendor country; the fuel has to come from the vendor country; a good amount of equipment will have to come from the vendor country and the entire construction and supply of remaining equipments will be done by NPCIL. But subsequently, when we go from one pair of reactors to second pair or third pair of the same vendor, the localisation or indigenous content should keep on increasing. Our dream is to take this localisation up to 80%.

Once you get access to fuel and technology, will tariffs be reduced?

Our aim is that whatever reactor we source from foreign vendors, the cost of energy produced must be comparable to any thermal power plant in the area.

How much of the country's electricity needs will you be able to meet once you reach full potential?

We will be meeting 20-25% of the country's total electricity needs. Thermal stations will still be the major supplier of electricity, since our power requirements are growing at a much faster pace.

Are you also in talks with some investment banks or private equity firms for fund raising to support your plans?

All our plants are running at a 70:30 debt-equity ratio. The 30% equity comes from government and in the last three years, we did not even require government's support because of internal accruals. For the remaining 70%, we have been tapping the Indian market. We have borrowed Rs 78,000 crore so far at very competitive rates.

Similarly, to fund our current programme, we will again tap the Indian market. It may also have some amount of external commercial borrowings, it will also have an element from some short-term funding agencies such as the Exim Bank and the Power Finance Corporation. We have had discussions with some foreign banks too to fund our debt requirements and they are quite eager to extend help.

What is the total funding requirement for the 10,000 mw plan?

Roughly between Rs 70,000 crore and Rs 80,000 crore. Actual cost will depend largely on the negotiations with the vendors.



When can we expect an IPO from NPCIL?

We are actually sitting on cash surplus of close to Rs 10,000 crore so we don't need to undertake an IPO immediately. But whenever we embark on our expansion programme, we will not hesitate to go for an IPO.

Under license from www.3dsyndication.com

 

[nitesh]

'India to achieve 35 per cent power from n-plants by 2050'- LATEST NEWS-The Economic Times


'India to achieve 35 per cent power from n-plants by 2050'
14 Oct, 2008, 1140 hrs IST, PTI

KOTA: With the signing of the Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal, the country will achieve 35 per cent electricity generation from nuclear power plants by 2050, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar has said.

The nuclear deal has opened the doors of opportunity for India to set up nuclear power plants to meet its energy requirements, Kakodkar told reporters here on Monday.

Approval has been accorded for construction of seventh and eighth units at the nuclear power plant facility in Rajasthan, he said, adding that the work on these two power projects have already started.

Kakodkar said the 123 agreement with the US could not prevent India from conducting a nuclear test.

The agreement, he said, will help India in procuring uranium from international suppliers.

 

[nitesh]

The Hindu Business Line : GE gears up for civil nuclear play

GE gears up for civil nuclear play
Plans include setting up new reactors, plant services.
On shortlist
GE’s nuclear unit is among the four short listed firms for placement of order by state-owned NPCIL for new Light Water Reactor capacities

GE also plans to provide fuel existing and new nuclear power plants

Anil Sasi

New Delhi, Oct. 14 General Electric Co is in the fray for contracts in India across the nuclear power generation cycle, including setting up new reactors and plant services, as well as providing fuel for existing and new nuclear power plants, a senior company executive said.

GE’s nuclear unit, which is a joint venture that is 40 per cent owned by Japan’s Hitachi Ltd, is among the four short listed firms for placement of order by state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) for new Light Water Reactor (LWR) capacities on the anvil.

“GE is eager to explore new business opportunities for civilian nuclear power in India, including new reactors and plant services, as well as providing fuel for existing and new nuclear power plants,” Mr Kishore Jayaraman, CEO, GE Energy, said in response to an e-mail query.

While GE was silent on the issue of reprocessing of spent fuel, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has clearly spelt out its position that any new imported LWR capacity to be set up in India would have to be accompanied by access to fuel reprocessing technology.

“There is no question of getting into a situation where spent fuel is allowed to pile up. Not even a single mega watt of LWR capacity would be set up in the country without fuel reprocessing assurances… This is an absolute precondition for us engaging with any foreign reactor vendor,” a senior DAE official told Business Line. He said the DAE’s position has been clearly spelt out to all the reactor manufacturers in the fray for contracts in India.

GE, the world’s largest power equipment maker and a major nuclear reactor player, plans to offer both the ABWR (Advanced Boiling Water Reactor) and the new ESBWR (Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor) in India. “Our ABWR and ESBWR designs would provide India’s Government and industry with technology offering to best fit the needs of the Indian nuclear industry,” Mr Jayaraman said.

On its strategy to compete with Russian and French players, Mr Jayaraman said: “India has demonstrated in a variety of sectors that it is interested in working with the world’s most innovative and competitive private sector enterprises, as evidenced by GE’s strong record in India.”

 

[nitesh]

India to seek n-energy support from Brazil, South Africa- Hindustan Times

Armed with an NSG waiver, India will seek civil nuclear cooperation with Brazil and South Africa at the third IBSA summit Wednesday that will focus on improving connectivity and enhancing cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, including food and energy security.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and South African President Kgalema Motlanthe at the day-long summit that brings together economic powerhouses from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Enhancing connectivity among the three countries separated by vast distances will figure prominently in discussions.

Briefing reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday, Nalin Surie, secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry, said the three IBSA countries were hopeful that their three capitals would be air-linked by the end of the year or the next year.

The Civil Aviation Act would have to be amended for the purpose, he said.

A 'Delhi Summit declaration' will also be adopted at the end of the summit. The three countries are also expected to sign seven MoUs, agreements or action plans, Surie said.

Asked if there was any possibility of nuclear energy cooperation among the three countries, he said the opportunities were plenty and there was a possibility of discussing the issue in coming days. India will take the issue of uranium sale with South Africa when the leaders of the two countries hold bilateral talks after the summit.

South Africa and Brazil had supported India's quest for civilian nuclear energy at the second IBSA summit in Johannesburg.

Indian, Brazil and South Africa could also cooperate in the area of defence production since all the three have robust defence industries.

The Delhi summit will complete the first cycle of IBSA's annual summits. The second cycle will begin with the fourth summit in Brazil next year.