123 Agreement delays impact India’s 2020 n-power targets
11 Dec 2009
Mumbai: Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) chairman and managing director SK Jain has hinted at likely delays in India's atomic power capacity addition plan for 2020 with the Indo-US civil nuclear deal still not in place.
"NPCIL had expected the entire process to be completed by 2007. However, there had been some slippages, indicating that the enhanced target of 30,000 MW by 2020 may be delayed," he told reporters here.
Jain was speaking to the media after discussions with a 50-member US civil nuclear mission.
The country's 11th Five-year Plan, enlarged the country's nuclear power capacity addition target to 30,000 MW by 2020. This took into account the addition of ten light water reactors (with a combined capacity of 10,000 MW) to be sourced from outside vendors, and addition of capacity from indigenous sources to the tune of 20,000 MW through a mix of pressurised heavy water reactors and fast breeder reactors.
With reference to US companies Jain said two MoUs had been signed with General Electric and Westinghouse, which foresees both companies setting up reactors at two sites at Chhayamithi Virdi in Gujarat and Kovada in Andhra Pradesh.
A number of sites around the country are being set up as 'N-power islands' with average capacities of 8,000 to 10,000 MW.