New Delhi has set ambitious targets for additional reactor capacity
India needs to implement tax breaks, secure sustained funding and establish varied uranium fuel supply chains as it bids to accelerate the completion of nuclear projects, the country’s power minister Manohar Lal told an advisory committee to the country’s Power Ministry.
Lal told the committee that India must accelerate the execution of nuclear power projects to meet rising energy demands and its net-zero commitments
The committee as met to discuss steps needed to meet the country’s ambitious target of a more than 10-fold increase in its nuclear energy capacity to 100 GW (100,000 MW) by 2047.
According to government data, India operates 25 commercial nuclear reactors with a total installed capacity of 8,880 MW, contributing about 3% to the country's electricity generation.
Eight reactors with a combined capacity of 6,600 MW are under construction, and another 10 reactors with a total capacity of 7,000 MW are in pre-project stages, according to New Delhi.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) reactor database statistics are slightly different. The IAEA says India has 21 commercial plants in operation and six under construction. The agency puts total net installed capacity at about 7,550 MW.
India is bullish on nuclear power to meet its rising energy demand without compromising on its net-zero commitments. State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd said recently that India plans to add 18 more nuclear reactors to its national energy mix by 2031-32, bringing the total nuclear power capacity of the country to more than 22,000 MW.
The government recently proposed to allow private Indian companies to build nuclear plants. It could also allow foreign companies to take stakes of up to 49% in its nuclear power projects and plans to ease its nuclear liability laws to cap accident-related penalties on equipment suppliers.
