NTPC, the state power firm and largest electricity producer in India plans to invest over the next two decades $62 billion in building 30 gigawatts (GW) of nuclear generation capacity, sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.
NTPC previously targeted to invest in 10 GW of nuclear capacity within two decades.
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Early this month, the federal budget outlined plans for a significant push toward nuclear energy as part of India’s long-term energy transition strategy. The government now targets the country to have 100 GW of nuclear power generation capacity installed by 2047, “positioning nuclear energy as a major pillar in India’s energy mix,” the cabinet said.
This push toward more nuclear power aligns with India’s commitment to have 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy generation by 2030 and meet 50% of its power demand with renewable energy by the end of the decade.
Currently, India has 8 GW of operating nuclear capacity, operated by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
As part of its plans to rely on nuclear energy, India will look to boost its domestic nuclear capabilities, promote private sector participation, and accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
As a result of India’s strategy to significantly increase its nuclear power capacity, the power state company NTPC has now tripled its nuclear generation capacity target to 30 GW, according to Reuters’s sources.
“NTPC plans to lead India’s nuclear power plan just as it did in the…thermal sector,” one of these sources told Reuters.
“The identified sites are promising and hold potential for large capacity addition,” said the source.
The government said in early February that NTPC and NPCIL signed a supplementary Joint Venture agreement to develop nuclear power facilities in the country. The joint venture named ASHVINI will build, own, and operate nuclear power plants, including the upcoming 4×700 MWe PHWR Mahi-Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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