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Brahma Chellaney: 'Homegrown' power plan will boost Indian nuclear in
The Indian government recently approved the construction of 10 commercial nuclear power reactors of indigenous design, initiating the largest building program in the world since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The global nuclear power industry is still reeling from the Fukushima impact. Just three of Japan's 42 reactors are currently operating, while France -- the poster child for nuclear power -- plans to cut its reliance on atomic energy significantly.
New nuclear power has become increasingly uneconomical in the West, in part because of rapidly spiraling plant-construction costs, prompting the United States and France to push reactor exports aggressively, including to "nuclear newcomers" such as the cash-laden oil and gas sheikhdoms of the Arabian peninsula. Still, the bulk of the new reactors under construction or planned worldwide are located in just four countries -- China, Russia, South Korea and India.
The Indian decision to turn to a "fully homegrown initiative" reflects the continuing problems in implementing a 2005 agreement on nuclear power with the U.S. Nine years after the U.S. Congress ratified the landmark deal, commercialization is still not within sight.
India, duped by its own hype over the nuclear deal, had announced plans to import reactors costing tens of billions of dollars from two U.S.-based vendors, Westinghouse Electric and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and France's state-owned Areva. The Indian plans helped to motivate Toshiba to acquire Westinghouse -- a takeover that ultimately proved a huge blunder, plunging Toshiba into a grave financial crisis. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection in March.
One missing link in commercializing the U.S.-India deal has been Japan, which signed a separate civil nuclear agreement with New Delhi only in 2016 after other supplier-nations had already concluded such accords. The Japanese parliament's approval in early June of the agreement with India clears the legal path for Japanese exports. The accord is to take effect in early July.
Japan is a top nuclear equipment supplier, not merely because Toshiba largely owns Westinghouse. Hitachi has a global nuclear power alliance with GE, while Mitsubishi Heavy has one with Areva. Just one Japan-based company, Japan Steel Works, controls 80% of the international market for heavy nuclear forgings.
The Japanese parliamentary approval, although an important development, has come at a time when Westinghouse, GE Hitachi and Areva -- which dominate the international reactor export business -- are in a dire financial state, with their futures at stake. These are the companies that were to principally benefit from the U.S.-India nuclear deal, although none had secured a supply contract thus far.
Fading promise
Having invested considerable political capital in the vaunted nuclear deal with the U.S., India today confronts an embarrassing situation: The nuclear power promise is fading globally before New Delhi has signed a single reactor contract as part of that deal. To save face, India, with one of the world's oldest nuclear energy programs, has embarked on a major expansion of domestically designed power reactors.
That the decision to construct 10 reactors of 700 megawatts capacity each is monumental is underscored by the fact that the total size of these units surpasses the current installed nuclear generating capacity in the country. India has 22 nuclear power reactors in operation, with capacity of 6,780MWe but producing 6,219MWe. The 10 new reactors will be in addition to seven others already under construction, including a prototype fast breeder reactor and two reactors of Russian design. The seven reactors will have a combined capacity of 5,300MWe.
The Indian government recently approved the construction of 10 commercial nuclear power reactors of indigenous design, initiating the largest building program in the world since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The global nuclear power industry is still reeling from the Fukushima impact. Just three of Japan's 42 reactors are currently operating, while France -- the poster child for nuclear power -- plans to cut its reliance on atomic energy significantly.
New nuclear power has become increasingly uneconomical in the West, in part because of rapidly spiraling plant-construction costs, prompting the United States and France to push reactor exports aggressively, including to "nuclear newcomers" such as the cash-laden oil and gas sheikhdoms of the Arabian peninsula. Still, the bulk of the new reactors under construction or planned worldwide are located in just four countries -- China, Russia, South Korea and India.
The Indian decision to turn to a "fully homegrown initiative" reflects the continuing problems in implementing a 2005 agreement on nuclear power with the U.S. Nine years after the U.S. Congress ratified the landmark deal, commercialization is still not within sight.
India, duped by its own hype over the nuclear deal, had announced plans to import reactors costing tens of billions of dollars from two U.S.-based vendors, Westinghouse Electric and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, and France's state-owned Areva. The Indian plans helped to motivate Toshiba to acquire Westinghouse -- a takeover that ultimately proved a huge blunder, plunging Toshiba into a grave financial crisis. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection in March.
One missing link in commercializing the U.S.-India deal has been Japan, which signed a separate civil nuclear agreement with New Delhi only in 2016 after other supplier-nations had already concluded such accords. The Japanese parliament's approval in early June of the agreement with India clears the legal path for Japanese exports. The accord is to take effect in early July.
Japan is a top nuclear equipment supplier, not merely because Toshiba largely owns Westinghouse. Hitachi has a global nuclear power alliance with GE, while Mitsubishi Heavy has one with Areva. Just one Japan-based company, Japan Steel Works, controls 80% of the international market for heavy nuclear forgings.
The Japanese parliamentary approval, although an important development, has come at a time when Westinghouse, GE Hitachi and Areva -- which dominate the international reactor export business -- are in a dire financial state, with their futures at stake. These are the companies that were to principally benefit from the U.S.-India nuclear deal, although none had secured a supply contract thus far.
Fading promise
Having invested considerable political capital in the vaunted nuclear deal with the U.S., India today confronts an embarrassing situation: The nuclear power promise is fading globally before New Delhi has signed a single reactor contract as part of that deal. To save face, India, with one of the world's oldest nuclear energy programs, has embarked on a major expansion of domestically designed power reactors.
That the decision to construct 10 reactors of 700 megawatts capacity each is monumental is underscored by the fact that the total size of these units surpasses the current installed nuclear generating capacity in the country. India has 22 nuclear power reactors in operation, with capacity of 6,780MWe but producing 6,219MWe. The 10 new reactors will be in addition to seven others already under construction, including a prototype fast breeder reactor and two reactors of Russian design. The seven reactors will have a combined capacity of 5,300MWe.
