India to generate 60 gigawatts of n-power by 2035
05 Jan 2010
In an interview with Nature magazine, Srikumar Banerjee, India's newly installed chief of the Atomic Energy Commission has said that the country is planning to increase nuclear power generation to 60 gigawatts by about 2035. This will be a massive boost from the current 4.7 gigawatts that is produced from 18 reactors.
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| Srikumar Banerjee (left) takes over as AEC chief from Anil Kakodkar |
''India's established reserve of uranium will allow us to raise our installed capacity only to 10 gigawatts,'' Banerjee said.
''We are intensifying our efforts to search for uranium in the country, but that takes time. But now that the Nuclear Suppliers Group has relaxed its guidelines, we can access international markets,'' he added.
Banerjee also pointed out that agreements with the United States, France and Russia for civil nuclear cooperation had been signed, as also a deal with Kazakhstan for the supply of uranium.
''Negotiations between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and companies in France and Russia are under way for finalizing the import of nuclear reactors, and we have already placed a purchase order for uranium with Kazakhstan,'' he said.
