Acme Solar Holdings chief executive officer Nikhil Dhingra has said the renewable energy firm is keen on investing in nuclear energy, the latest to join a growing list of players to make such an offer after the Budget proposed to open the nuclear power sector to private players.
According to Dhingra, investing in nuclear power makes sense for Acme Solar, as the company is looking for long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) instead of relying on the merchant market (power exchanges), which is volatile.
“As far as new businesses are concerned, we are keen on nuclear power because other than power production, we are primarily in the PPA business. Our aim is to sell power in a long-term contracted manner,” Dhingra said.
Presenting the Budget on February 1, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a National Nuclear Energy Mission, calling for private participation to achieve a 100 gigawatt (GW) target of nuclear power generation capacity by 2047.
Since then, Tata Power, Reliance Industries, Adani Group and Vedanta have committed to getting into nuclear power to meet the country’s growing electricity demand.
Acme Solar, which had a turnover of Rs 1,466 crore in FY24, is the first small business to show interest in nuclear power.
“Our aim is to sell power in a long-term contracted manner. We do not want to take merchant risk in a significant way. Hence, we will participate in nuclear power as much as we can, provided a framework is put in place,” Dhingra told media on February 27.
He urged the Centre to draft the civil nuclear energy policy to promote long-term returns for investors.
The government’s renewed push for nuclear will be an opportunity for several small-to-large-sized private companies to either get into manufacturing of components or become independent power producer, a power ministry official said.
In her budget speech, Sitharaman said India’s nuclear mission would also be an interesting opportunity for start-ups to venture into this sector.
At present, India’s nuclear sector is regulated. It is governed by the Atomic Energy Act, of 1962, under which only government-owned entities can generate and supply nuclear energy. There has been no private sector participation, so far.
But now, the government wants to involve the private sector, as renewable power is mired with intermittency in the absence of large-scale energy storage systems.
For the private sector to be able to invest in nuclear power, the government will have to make some changes to the laws governing the nuclear energy sector.
It is in the process of amending the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act.
The Budget announcement is a step toward increasing India’s nuclear power capacity from 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32 and eventually 100 GW by 2047.
India has committed to reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030 from the 2005 level and achieving about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil energy resources by 2030.
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