Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Apr 4: Government of India is planning to set up Nuclear plants at Greenfield sites. This is a part of the capacity expansion programme involving the establishment of nuclear reactors at these new sites.
Disclosing this in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy & Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, in reply to a question, stated that the administrative approval and financial sanction has already been accorded to three sites i.e., Gorakhpur, Haryana with a capacity 4×700 MW, Chutka, Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 2×700 MW and Mahi Banswara, Rajasthan with a capacity of 4×700 MW. Of these, excavation work at Gorakhpur, Haryana has already commenced, while in case of the other sites, pre-project activities like land acquisition etc. are in progress.
Meanwhile, in- principle approval has been accorded for setting up more such Nuclear Reactor Plants at other Greenfield sites, which include Jatapur in Maharashtra, Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh, Bhimpur in Madhya Pradesh, Chhaya Mithi Virdi in Gujarat and Haripur in West Bengal. Pre-project activities at these sites are also proceeding at various stages.
The reply further stated that the Nuclear Power projects in greenfield sites would increase the power capacity 7000 MW by the year 2031. With the completion of the under construction and the sanctioned projects, the total nuclear power installed capacity in India will go up to 22480 MW.
The Government has also undertaken several enabling steps to increase the Nuclear Power capacity, based both on indigenous technologies as well as with foreign technical cooperation. These include resolution of issues related to civil liability for nuclear damages (CLND Act 2010) and creation of Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool. The amendment of Atomic Energy Act has also been done to enable joint ventures with PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings) to set up Nuclear Power Plants.
Nuclear Power Reactors to be set up are funded by a mix of “debt and equity”. Generally the debt to equity ratio is at 70:30.
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