The Indian cabinet cleared the building of 10 new nuclear power plants in a major decision taken last week, to add 7,000 MW to India's nuclear power generation capacity. These will be the indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors. The government, in a statement, said the new reactors would be in addition the ones that are expected to come on stream by 2021-22, which will add 6,700 MW in addition to the current capacity of 6,780 MW from 22 reactors. They are under construction at Kudankulam, Kakrapar, and Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant. The government said the new reactors would come up in “fleet mode as a fully home-grown initiative”. It would be one of the flagship 'Make in India' projects in this sector.
The statement said, “With likely manufacturing orders of close to £7 billion to the domestic industry, the project will help transform Indian nuclear industry by linking our goal of a strong nuclear power sector with our indigenous industrial capacities in high-end technologies.” The decision is significant in several respects as the country is committed to move to a less carbon economy as part of its Paris commitment. The only way to induct cleaner power on a larger scale is through nuclear.
The growth of the indigenous nuclear power sector will be in addition to the foreign reactors that are in the process of negotiation, but have all run into headwinds. The government expects the new project “will bring about substantial economies of scale and maximise cost and time efficiencies by adopting fleet mode for execution. It is expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment. With manufacturing orders to domestic industry, it will be a major step towards strengthening India's credentials as a major nuclear manufacturing powerhouse.”
