On November 26, the Ministry of Coal proposed amendments in the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, allowing the use of mined-out or de-coaled land for public utility such as setting up a nuclear power plant. A similar plan is also afoot for utilising thermal power plants that have completed their lives.
The move is a step toward India’s plan of increasing its nuclear power capacity from the current 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32 and eventually 100 GW by 2047. As per the latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, 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 fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
In a first for any central PSU, NTPC has also announced it will launch an exclusive subsidiary for nuclear power generation. The CPSU has already entered into a joint venture with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) for a 2,800 MW project in Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan at an estimated investment of Rs 45,000-50,000 crore. NTPC CMD Gurdeep Singh told Moneycontrol that the subsidiary would be a separate entity from the JV with NPCIL. He added that the CPSU is aiming for a nuclear power capacity of 20 GW in over two decades.
Why is India chasing nuclear power apart from renewables?
India cannot reduce its emission intensity solely through renewable energy like solar, wind and hydro. Even if it does achieve its NDC target only through renewable energy, the cost of power would be very expensive.
An April 2024 report from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and the NPCIL stated that relying primarily on renewable energy to meet India's net zero target by 2070 will result in higher power tariffs for the end consumers. The report stated that the country will have to simultaneously increase its nuclear power capacity to keep electricity affordable.
“When looked at from the cost-to-consumer point of view, the system costs for nuclear energy are expected to be lower than those imposed by the variability of renewable energy. Since renewable energy, especially solar and wind, is variable, uncertain, location-constrained, non-synchronous, and modular in nature, the system effects and the system costs make the grid integration challenging,” read the report.
Nuclear power is not renewable energy but it is a zero-emission clean energy source. It generates power through fission, which is the process of splitting uranium atoms to produce energy. The heat released by fission is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity without the harmful by-products emitted by fossil fuels.
States urged to build nuclear power plants
On November 12, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar asked the states that are away from coal resources to consider setting up nuclear-based power plants.
“States should consider setting up nuclear power plants at sites where coal-based thermal power plants have completed their life,” he told states, as per a government statement.
To lay the groundwork for small nuclear power plants in the country, the government has sanctioned 10 indigenous 700 MW reactors to be implemented in fleet mode to promote indigenous nuclear power technologies.
Further, the government in this year’s Union Budget announced partnering with the private sector for setting up Bharat Small Reactors and carrying out R&D for the same as well as newer technologies for nuclear energy.
Currently, India’s nuclear energy sector is regulated by state-owned entities like NPCIL holding exclusive rights over nuclear power generation. While amendments to the Atomic Energy Act in 2015 allow private companies to supply equipment, ownership of reactors remains restricted.
However, the government is actively considering decentralisation of the nuclear energy sector which would require legislative changes to the Act and adjustments to the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA) that places absolute liability on operators, deterring private firms from investment due to high insurance risks.
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