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Indian Civil Nuclear News & Discussions.

India & Britain Nuclear Agreement Signed

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday signed a “declaration” on civilian nuclear cooperation with the U.K. which officials described as a “general umbrella agreement.”

The two sides are expected to make a public announcement in the coming days. The U.K. becomes the eighth country with which India has signed a civilian nuclear pact since breaking out of restrictions imposed on it.

The agreement was signed here by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee and British High Commissioner Richard Stagg. The pact will provide a legal framework for British companies that have expertise in supplying components.

The declaration was agreed upon during Minister of State for Commerce Anand Sharma’s visit. India has so far signed civilian nuclear pacts with Russia, France, the U.S., Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Argentina and Namibia.

The Hindu : Front Page : India, Britain ink nuclear pact
 
Russia to build 12 nuclear plants in India
PTI, Mar 12, 2010, 09.16pm IST

NEW DELHI: Giving a fillip to their ties, India and Russia on Friday signed 19 pacts, including three in civil nuclear field and one for purchase of 29 MiG-29 fighters besides inking the revised agreement on Gorshkov aircraft carrier, a deal that was stuck for three years over price.

Under the agreements in civil nuclear field, Russia will build 12 atomic plants - six in Kudankulam and six in Haripur in West Bengal.

The agreements were signed during the day-long visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who held comprehensive talks with his counterpart PM Manmohan Singh with an aim of exploring opportunities for further boosting the relations.

They also discussed regional issues, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the context of terrorism and agreed to intensify their consultations on Afghanistan the challenges posed by terrorism and extremism in the region.

The pacts in civil nuclear field are agreement on cooperation in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes and agreement on road map for the serial construction of Russian designed nuclear power plants.

An MoU was also signed on Nuclear Power between NPCIL and Atomstroy Export for construction of third and fourth atomic plant in Kudankulum in Tamil Nadu.

The revised agreement on Gorshkov aircraft carrier deal was also signed during the visit. The deal had initially been signed in 2004 at the cost of $1.5 billion, along with 16 MiG-29Ks. However, the Russians later demanded $2.9 billion, citing escalation of costs.

After protracted negotiations, the two sides settled at $2.34 billion.

Russia to build 12 nuclear plants in India - India - The Times of India
 
Bloody huge number in one go. Generally India signs agreements for 2 plants. Im assuming the plants will be the latest Russian 1000MW plants-it was mentioned in the reports in the aftermath of the nuke deal that Russia wants to sell and India wants to buy the latest design Russian reactors-the name escapes me though.
 
Bloody huge number in one go. Generally India signs agreements for 2 plants. Im assuming the plants will be the latest Russian 1000MW plants-it was mentioned in the reports in the aftermath of the nuke deal that Russia wants to sell and India wants to buy the latest design Russian reactors-the name escapes me though.

Yes it is..

The Hindu : Front Page : Russia to build two more reactors at Kudankulam

Russia to build two more reactors at Kudankulam

CHENNAI: The road map agreed upon by India and Russia on Friday for the construction of Russian reactors in India provides for building two more reactors (that is units 5 and 6) at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and two reactors at Haripur in West Bengal during the 12th Plan period (2012 to 2017). It outlines the timeline for the steps to be taken for the construction of Kudankulam units 3 and 4.

India and Russia signed five agreements, including two each in the nuclear sphere and fertilizers and one in the civilian space programme, in New Delhi in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. In a press statement on Saturday, S.K. Malhotra, spokesperson and Head, Public Awareness Division, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), said that the construction of more Russian reactors would be considered during the formulation of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

The road map called for progressive indigenisation of supplies for the reactors to be built with Russian collaboration beyond the level already envisaged for the Kudankulam units 3 and 4.

Informed officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said the first unit at Kudankulam might reach first criticality by the end of this year. Dummy fuel bundles would be loaded into this reactor in June this year. Dummy fuel bundles, which have the configuration of real fuel bundles, had already arrived at Kudankulam from Russia. The real fuel bundles, which have also arrived at the site, would be loaded into the reactor later. The second unit would be started in 2011.

Kudankulam units 1 and 2 are Russian reactors with a capacity of 1,000 MW each. The NPCIL is building them.

A total of six Russian reactors will come up at Kudankulam. While Russia will provide the equipment and components for the six reactors, the NPCIL will build them. (6+6=12):cheers:The reactors will use enriched uranium as fuel, and light water as both coolant and moderator.

:yahoo:
 
This is huge, I think these are steps well taken by the govt as our needs are growing everyday towards industrialization
 
India may join Russia in establishing Angarsk nuclear fuel bank


India may join Russia's nuclear center of a low-enriched uranium (LEU) reserves project in Angarsk, the chairman of India's Atomic Energy Research Commission said.

"India is interested as a donor country and we are looking into it," Srikumar Banerjee said.


Russia's state-run nuclear power corporation Rosatom said on Monday that Russia would provide by the end of 2010 the first batch of low-enriched uranium for an international nuclear fuel reserve bank under the control of the UN nuclear watchdog.

Banerjee said India considers the participation in the project to be an "attractive" possibility, however he added that it "requires a very detailed techno commercial dealings which have not been completed."

"We have to evaluate the facility, and economics here comes as a major factor," Banerjee said. "It is not just a political arrangement, so I cannot straight away say that India is joining just now, but India has a capability of joining as an equal partner in some of these activities."

Russia has earlier proposed to establish international reserves of LEU to ensure stable fuel supplies to IAEA member countries in case of emergency, including "insurmountable political difficulties."

Russia proposed in 2007 the creation of a nuclear center with LEU reserves in Angarsk, 5,100 km (3,170 miles) east of Moscow, to enable countries including Iran to develop civilian nuclear power without having to enrich their own uranium.

Russia has pledged to give access to the reserves "to any IAEA member country that honors its non-proliferation commitments."

The IAEA Board of Governors approved the establishment of a nuclear fuel reserve bank in November 2009.

Rosatom's head Sergei Kiriyenko said a detailed agreement between Russia and the IAEA on the nuclear fuel bank could be signed in April-May.

India may join Russia in establishing Angarsk nuclear fuel bank | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire
 
what will we be getting out of this....???
 
Indian farmers battle against nuclear plant


Campaigners say that the nuclear plant would destroy the picturesque coastal area


A robust people's movement against a major nuclear power project has built up in a cluster of small villages on India's picturesque Konkan coast. The BBC's Zubair Ahmed reports:

Some 350km (220 miles) from India's commercial capital, Mumbai, lies the village of Madban overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea.

It is in this village that a 10,000 megawatt nuclear power plant is proposed - and farmers and fishermen, backed by campaigners, are hardening their stance against it.

People from Madban believe the project will cause havoc to the environment and to their livelihoods.

Stunning beauty

Pravin Gavhankar, a local farmer who is leading the campaign against the plant, expresses his resolve in no uncertain terms: "We have been living here for centuries; we will die but not abandon our ancestral homes and farms."



The nuclear plant will amount to raping the gift of nature that we have here

Pravin Gavhankar
The nuclear power plant's director CB Jain is seemingly unperturbed by the villagers' opposition.

He says: "We are very much excited that we are going to implement this particular plan of the government of India very soon."

Plans for the government's ambitious nuclear power plant came after the September 2008 Indo-French agreement. This was implemented soon after the global body, the Nuclear Suppliers Group, lifted international restrictions and permitted other countries to collaborate with India on civil nuclear deals.

The French nuclear company Areva is set to install six nuclear reactors, each able to produce 1,650 megawatts of power, in this part of the coastline of western Maharashtra state.

The long coastal stretch between Mumbai and Goa is stunning in its beauty and dotted with horticultural activity. The only big industrial activity here is the Dabhol power plant.

The villagers are not just opposed to the nuclear plant in their backyard but also to nine other power projects in the region which are in various stages of being commissioned.

Mr Gavhankar believes they will destroy the region's ecology.

"The nuclear plant will amount to raping the gift of nature that we have here," he says.

Real concern

But Mr Jain disagrees.

"The site is most suited to the plant. It's totally barren, 80 percent of it surrounded by sea, water is available in abundance."



He says that despite the protests, the first phase of the project, that of land acquisition, is over.

Mr Jain says that the next phase - procuring environmental clearances - will be over soon.

His optimism is a cause for real concern among villagers.

In Madban and other villages on the proposed site of the plant, local people refuse to believe that land officially acquired last month has suddenly ceased to be theirs.

Milind Desai, a local medical practitioner, says: "There is not even a hypothetical possibility of us leaving the village. We know the plant is not coming here."

Campaigner Mr Gavhankar owned 150 acres of land until last month.

The government acquired his land - along with land belonging to 2,400 other farmers - in four villages.

On it, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India is to start work on the project next year - along with Areva.

The aim is to fuel energy-starved India's continued economic growth. Over the next decade alone, the contribution of nuclear energy is expected to rise from just 3% to 6% of India's total needs.

But Mr Gavhankar argues that the government would do well to look at other alternatives to produce electricity.

"We are not against progress. Nature has given us air, water and sunlight. You can make solar energy from sunlight, wind energy from air and the water in this long coast of the Arabian sea produces enough waves to generate thousands of megawatts of power. Why are they not using these natural resources?" he asks.

Campaigners from around India have now joined the resistance movement set up by farmers and fishermen.

They have all decided to stage a protest march in Ratnagiri on 17 March to highlight what they say are safety issues overlooked by the plans, as well as compensation schemes in case of accidents.

Collision course

Adwait Pednekar, a security expert in the energy sector, is opposing the nuclear plant because of the dangers he says that it poses.



There is no disguising the strength of local feeling against nuclear power
"First is the impact on the environment and the long term impact because of radioactivity on human beings and biodiversity, including sea life," he says.

"The entire area taken by the government is quite productive in terms of horticulture and all that will be lost."

Environmental groups like Greenpeace support the campaign, arguing that the area is environmentally and ecologically sensitive.

But the government insists that the proposed nuclear plant will not harm the flora and fauna of the region and that eventually opposition to it will fade away.

"It'll die down because it's not our project. It's their project. It's for them," said plant director CB Jain.

It seems that for the time being at least the two sides remain on a collision course.

BBC News - Indian farmers battle against nuclear plant
 
Its always the poor farmers that have to suffer or they can't move out from the radioactive intense zones :coffee:
 
India to produce 35,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020

PTI
MUMBAI, March 21, 2010

India is expected to produce 35,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020, a senior official from Atomic Energy Commission said.

“The total nuclear power generation of India is expected to reach 35,000 MW by 2020,” Atomic Energy Commission Chairman and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Director, S. Banerjee, told PTI on the sidelines of a function conducted by Jadavpur University Alumni Association Mumbai Branch (JUAAM), on nuclear power.

“But the nuclear power will account for less than 10 per cent of the total demand in 2020, as by that time, demand for power will have reached 3,50,000 MW-4,00,000 MW,” he said.

He said that India’a nuclear power generation program needs support from the private sector as well.

“It’s a wrong notion that only Government is doing all activities in the nuclear power program. We need the industry support also. TCS, an IT company under Tatas, are our partner for decades,” Mr. Banerjee said.

He, however, said that the private players can play only a minor role in power generation.

“The present Atomic Energy Act allows private parties to be only the minor stakeholders in generation of power. No private company can jump into the production which does not have the expertise. A lot of safety and security concerns are there,” he said.

He said now there are many joint ventures in the pipeline, including that of private—public partnership model, for nuclear power.

“NTPC has already signed an agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for nuclear power generation. There are a lot of activities going on and companies like Nalco have also come forward for production of nuclear power,” he said.

Recently, L&T and NPCIL together announced a joint venture for equipment manufacturing, where L&T owns the controlling stake, he added.

The Hindu : News / National : India to produce 35,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020
 
Thats about 35 plants roughly quite a tall order and very expensive.
 

“But the nuclear power will account for less than 10 per cent of the total demand in 2020, as by that time, demand for power will have reached 3,50,000 MW-4,00,000 MW,” he said.

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3500,000MW - 400,000MW hmmm

Thats a lot........... comparing to Pakistan's energy demands expecting to grow upto 32,000MW - 35,000MW in 2020.

And the population of India is around 6.5/7 times higher than Pakistan. Well you can get an idea how good india has established in its industries where their energy demands are so high comparing to Pakistan thats about 10 times higher than Pakistan.

Great Job India
 
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