Nuclear or Solar ? Choice is clear

 

 

Context :

India seeks $26 bln of private nuclear power investments, sources say   ..  Hindu  … 20 Feb 2024

Extract :

Central government will invite private firms to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear energy sector to increase the amount of electricity from sources that don't produce carbon dioxide emissions, two government sources told Reuters.

This is the first time India is pursuing private investment in nuclear power, a non-carbon-emitting energy source that contributes less than 2% of India's total electricity generation. The funding would help India to achieve its target of having 50% of its installed electric generation capacity use non-fossil fuels by 2030, up from 42% now.

The government is in talks with at least five private firms including Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power and Vedanta Ltd to invest around 440 billion rupees each, ( $ 5.3 billion ) the two sources, who are directly involved in the matter, said last week.

The federal Department of Atomic Energy and state-run Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) have held multiple rounds of discussions with the private companies in the past year on the investment plan, the sources said.

With the investment, the government hopes to build 11,000 megawatts (MW) of new nuclear power generation capacity by 2040, said the sources, who did not want to be identified as the plan is still being finalised.

NPCIL owns and operates India's current fleet of nuclear power plants, with a capacity of 7,500 MW, and has committed investments for another 1,300 MW.

The sources said under the funding plan the private companies will make the investments in the nuclear plants, acquire land, water and undertake construction in areas outside the reactor complex of the plants.

But, the rights to build and run the stations and their fuel management will rest with NPCIL, as allowed under the law, they said.

The private companies are expected to earn revenue from the power plant's electricity sales and NPCIL would operate the projects for a fee, the sources said.

"This hybrid model of nuclear power project development is an innovative solution to accelerate the nuclear capacity," said Charudatta Palekar, an independent power sector consultant who formerly worked for PwC.

The plan will not require any amendment to India's Atomic Energy Act of 1962 but will need a final go-ahead from the Department of Atomic Energy, said one of the two sources.

Indian law bars private companies from setting up nuclear power plants but allows them to supply components, equipment and sign construction contracts for work outside of the reactors.

New Delhi has not met its nuclear power capacity addition targets for years mainly because it could not procure nuclear fuel supplies. However in 2010, India struck a deal with the United States for supplies of reprocessed nuclear fuel.

India's stringent nuclear compensation laws have hampered talks with foreign power plant builders such as General Electric and Westinghouse. The country has deferred a target to add 2,000 MW of nuclear power from 2020 to 2030.

 

My Take :

 

I think it would be far better for India to spend this money on grid-scale Solar power , rather than on Nuclear plants

Following tabulation supports my argument . I request Energy Experts to confirm ( or disprove ) these figures :

 

Parameter	Surya-Ghar Scheme	Nuclear Power Scheme
Capacity Envisaged ( GW )	30 GW ( 3 Kw x 1 crore families )	11 GW
Investment Estimate ( Rs )	120,000 cr ( @ Rs 1.2 L / 3 Kw )	1,56,200 cr
Investment per GW ( Rs )	4,000 cr	14,200 cr
Expected Completion Time ( Yrs )	4	16 ( Target completion by 2040 )
% cost borne by the Govt	60 %	NIL
% cost borne by Installer	40 %	100 %
Est. generation cost ( Rs / kwh )	FREE	15 ( latest Jaitapur plant )
No of homes to be served	1 crore	1 lakh ?
Import Content	Nil	Enriched Uranium ?
Safety Record	Excellent	Excellent - but around the World, Nuclear plants are closing down
International Compliance Reqd	None	Several ( including inspection )
Supply of Fuel	Plenty of Sun-shine (300 days/yr)	Enriched Uranium in short supply
Reduction in GHG per year ( after full implementation of 1 crore )	210,240,000 tons	?
Earnings @ $ 10 / carbon credit	$ 210,240,0000 ( Rs 17430 cr / year  = 14.5 % on investment of Rs 1.2 lakh*crore )	?
Adverse Factors	Multi-story City buildings have roof area for only 10 % of the tenants of a building( for 300 sq ft / 3 Kw )	# Very high investment / GW # Very high price / Kwh # Long time to install #  Opposition from local people #  Reluctance of Funding Agencies

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.HemenParekh.ai  /  24 Feb 2024