Areva & Rosatom To Source Locally For Indian Nuclear Power Projects

[Chanakya's_Chant]

Proof of Kudankulam: 4 more units, cheap power

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CHENNAI: Kudankulam may provide the Russian nuclear plant supplier Rosatom an early bird advantage in India's nuclear power market. Having demonstrated the working of a recent reactor design ahead of French and US firms in India, Rosatom says work will start on two units at Kudankulam in 2016. Speaking on behalf of Rosatom to TOI, Russian nuclear expert Alexander Uvarov says up to 70% of the equipment for new plants may be manufactured in India.

Q: How many units do you propose to build in Kudankulam? Will Unit 3 and 4 be any different, in terms of safety features and power generation capacity from Units 1 and 2?

According to the agreement signed between India and Russia during Putin's visit last December, Rosatom will build not less than 12 units in India. It is certain that the first two of them will be the units 3 and 4 at Kudankulam nuclear power plant, construction of which will start soon. Concrete pouring is planned for early 2016 for these units. The reactors will be VVER1000 similar to 1 and 2.

Speaking of the additional systems that will be implemented in the units, it is important to mention Multi-D technology , which is a lifecycle management system enabling higher productivity and economic efficiency in the designed lifecycles of the facilities. In addition to the passive and active cool down safety features, the power units will be equipped with diagnostic systems which will ensure that operating and maintenance personnel of the power plant respond to signs of disruption to the work of the equipment rather than to events.

It is possible that the number of units at Kudankulam NPP can be increased. India believes that there should be at least six units.

Q: Will some of the equipment for the future plants be manufactured in India, given Modi's push for Make in India?

Localization of production is an integral part of Rosatom's offer, aimed at the implementation of the technological supply chain in the country in which the NPP is constructed. Local producers could become contractors of Rosatom in future projects, which means guaranteed employment of staff and constant supply of orders. Customers save money too. Such localization allows the customer country and its companies to acquire new experience, knowledge and technology .

Localization of goods, works and services in case of stepwise construction of power units may be up to 70%.Rosatom engages national companies for supply of equipment and rendering of services on a long-term basis. It cooperates closely with design, scientific, industrial and construction organizations from client countries and involves their industrial potential in the supply of equipment and materials, as well as in performing onsite works.

The roadmap developed by Russia and India provides for stepwise localization. In unit 1 of Kudanku lam, Indian specialists per formed assembling and com missioning. At present, the participation of Indian companies in the supply of equipment for the second stage is being ex panded, including organ ization of joint ventures for manufacturing of NPP equipment in India.

Within the framework of project implementation, Rosatom is discussing partnerships with major Indian corporations, which are ready to take part in manufacturing of utilities and equipment for new power units. In 2012 Atomenergomash, an engineering subsidiary of Rosatom, chose an Indian partner for equipment localization and outlined a business plan for joint work.

Q: There have been reports that you will be offering power at a lower price than other companies such as GE or Westinghouse. How is that possible?

Every customer, regardless of the relations that it wishes to establish with us, asks us the same question: what will be the price of one KWH of electric power generated by your plant? Rosatom can guarantee a certain price for electrical energy generated by NPPs built by Rosatom, since we have constructed the entire process chain: from uranium production to construction of NPPs and sale of electrical energy .

According to representatives of the Indian nuclear power industry, Rosatom offers the most favorable power price till date. Tariffs applied to the first stage of Kudankulam NPP - Rs 3.5 per kWh - are highly competitive. They are almost twice lower than those used in US projects proposed for India.

Q: Unit 1 had lots of problems and there were many delays apart from the agitations. Unit 1 turbine had to be sent to BHEL in Hyderabad for repair. What was the nature of the problems?

The first power unit demonstrated safe operation during more than 4700 hours, having generated over 2.8 billion KWH of power to the power grid. A scheduled turbine generator shutdown is a "zero hazard level" event according to INES, International Nuclear Events Scale (an IAEA scale). That is, such an event by no means impacts personnel, environment, population, or offshore water safety . Radiation leakage was also out of the question. Actually , the turbine generator shutdown was a proof of perfect operation of power plant safety systems: the slightest trouble in turbine generator operation led to activation of power unit safety systems, which, in turn, led to power unit shutdown.

It is important to point out that everything has been performed in a regulated manner; the personnel operated with full understanding of the situation; and the safety systems worked in accordance with the regulations, that is, no unexpected or extraordinary event took place. This was not an unforeseen or extraordinary event. The pre-commissioning tests stage is intended to observe such malfunctions. The NPP-92 project executed at Kudankulam fully complies with the requirements of current normative technical documents of the Russian Federation and IAEA.

Q: What safety features were added in the balance of plant of Unit 1 due to Indian requests. A valve blowout led to injuries among workers in late 2013.

Kudankulam was developed on the base of serial power plants commissioned in Russia and Eastern Europe for a long time. The project belongs to Advanced PressurizedWater Reactors of the third generation and meets international requirements for nuclear plants commissioned after 2000.

Q: Will there be any delays in supplying equipment because of the problems between Russia and Ukraine?

Threats of sanctions imposed against Russia will not affect Rosatom's plans. None of the foreign partners has abandoned signed commitments to date; therefore, there are no grounds for concern.There are no failures in relations with Ukraine as well. Ukrainian NPPs continue to be provided with Russian fuel and the Ukrainian partners have no debts.

Source:- Proof of Kudankulam: 4 more units, cheap power - The Times of India

Areva may source locally for Jaitapur nuclear project
Firm hopes local sourcing will save costs for itself, as well as for Nuclear Power Corp. of India, which will operate the project

The move comes at a time when Areva has just recorded a loss of €4.83 billion in 2014. ​

Mumbai: Areva SA of France, the world’s largest nuclear reactor maker, is likely to buy some key components for the 9,900 megawatts (MW) Jaitapur nuclear project on Maharashtra’s Konkan coast from local manufacturers, the head of its Indian subsidiary said. The French government-owned company hopes local sourcing will save costs for itself, as well as for Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd (NPCIL), which will operate the project. The move comes at a time when Areva has just recorded a loss of €4.83 billion (around Rs.32,845 crore today) in 2014. “As part of our improvement plan, we are looking for sourcing in India of components for the nuclear island, which will not only help us to reduce cost for our customer (NPCIL), but also further contribute to the Make in India policy,” said Erwan Hinault, country managing director of Areva India Pvt. Ltd, the fully-owned subsidiary of Areva SA. The nuclear island includes the reactor that contains fuel and control systems, pumps for circulating the coolant, the pressurizer used to maintain pressure inside the plant and the steam generator. It has not been smooth sailing for the Jaitapur project, though. The nuclear project, which will be the world’s biggest in terms of power production once it is complete, has drawn the ire of environmentalists, anti-nuclear activists and the local community, especially after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The Shiv Sena, which has a strong presence in the Konkan region, has consistently opposed the project, even though the Bharatiya Janata Party, its senior partner in the state’s ruling alliance, has pledged support for it. The Sena has threatened an agitation on 16 March to shut down the project office in Jaitapur. The state’s Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, as well as the central government, have, however, supported the project. Areva is the technology partner and major vendor for NPCIL, which will own and operate the project with six reactors of 1,650MW each. An analyst said Areva’s plan is a win-win situation for Areva, NPCIL and Indian companies. Kameswara Rao, partner and leader of energy, utility and mining practice at audit and consultancy firm PwC India said, “Besides the large civil construction component, a sizeable part of nuclear power island can be localized to reduce project cost and minimize the foreign exchange component. Indian companies now have capabilities beyond the 220MW class and the supply chain for special steels can also be developed locally.” The long gestation period of a nuclear power plant of 8-10 years gives an opportunity for the reactor supplier and the operator to work with local manufacturers to pre-qualify them and develop a reliable supply chain. A greater engagement of local suppliers also gives the operator greater options to address any subsequent regulatory requirements and gives comfort of dealing with any safety situations, Rao added. Hinault attributed the losses posted by the parent to “impairment charges, losses at completion and contingencies for discontinued renewable business”. The company will be back in profit by 2018, he predicted. As part of its turnaround strategy, Areva has decided to exit the renewable space and focus on its core nuclear business. Areva has built a 125MW solar power plant based on concentrated solar power technology in Rajasthan for Reliance Power Ltd and has an agreement to build one more 125MW solar power plant. The company has so far built 47.5MW biomass-based power plants for various firms in India and also use its technology centre in Chennai to serve the South-East Asian market. Areva Renewable Energies India Pvt. Ltd employs a little over 100 employees. Hinault said, “As part of overall turnaround plan, company has decided to concentrate on what we do best, that is building and maintaining nuclear power plants and provide nuclear fuel services. Of course, we are committed to our clients and will complete projects on our hand, but we will not do any further business development activity without partners in the renewable space.”

Source:- Areva may source locally for Jaitapur nuclear project - Livemint