Many states have been witnessing growing protests against nuclear projects.
Amid mounting opposition from local people against nuclear power projects, state-run Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) plans to explain the ground realities to some foreign suppliers of nuclear reactors.
An NPC team, led by Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain, is expected to hold talks with senior officials of nuclear engineering companies like Russia’s Atomstroyexport, US-Japanese joint venture GE-Hitachi, US major Westinghouse and Areva of France this week. The officials would be in Mumbai to attend an international nuclear summit.
NPC so far has entered into an early work contract with Areva, and is holding talks with GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse.
These companies have expressed apprehensions about the campaign against nuclear power in various states. NPC said it would also address various issues raised by the anti-nuclear lobby. “NPC will speak to these companies as a confidence-building exercise. So far, none of these companies have communicated their desire to drop India plans or put them on hold. Similarly, there has not been any halt in NPC’s ongoing negotiations with these companies to arrive at final agreement,” an NPC official, who did not want to be identified, told Business Standard.
The NPC official admitted that the Russian company, a joint venture partner of NPC, has expressed displeasure over the recent protests by villagers to halt work at the 2,000-Mw Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu. A senior counsellor at the Russian Embassy termed this as unfortunate development and hoped the problem could be resolved through discussion between the central government, the department of atomic energy, Tamil Nadu government and people who are against the project.
NPC would also apprise Areva of the situation at the proposed 9,900-Mw nuclear project in Jaitapur, Maharashtra. The French company has got into an agreement with NPC to supply six reactors for the project. “Last week was marked by protests by villagers. However, the compound wall will be completed by the end of this month. Areva is expected to supply initially two evolutionary pressurised reactors of 1,650 Mw each and later four more reactors of the same capacity for Jaitapur. NPC and Areva have already entered into early works contract and is expected to sign final contract after Areva gets the final clearance from the French nuclear safety regulator,” the NPC official informed.
NPC is also looking at procuring reactors from either Westinghouse or GE-Hitachi for six units of 1,000-1,200 Mw each at its proposed Mithi-Virdi project in Gujarat. The state-run generator plans to perform ground-breaking in 2012. NPC has also begun the groundwork for its Kovvada project in Andhra Pradesh, and expects to sign a deal with GE-Hitachi to supply six reactors of 1,000-1,200 Mw each.