Ten facts about Nuclear Deal
1. India will invest around 100 Billion USD in next 20 Years.
2. Three American companies have expertise in this area, who are already in action to grab most of the chunk (Nuclear reactor manufacturers Westinghouse, General and BWX Technologie).
3. After that huge investment India can only increase its nuclear energy share from existing 3% to 6%.
4. The environmental impact is gigantic. US haven’t built a single nuclear reactor in last 27 years. Even the word’s largest uranium supplier country Australia is not producing nuclear energy at home.
5. Even nuclear power plans require large land as there can’t be any population in 8 KM radius of a power plant.
6. India has vast untapped hydropower resources, only 23 percent of which has been harnessed so far. Huge opportunities are there in that area. China generates 4 times more hydropower then us. And they are world leader in generating power from small hydropower plans.
7. Operating Cost for per unit electricity generated by Nuclear power corporation of India is around Rs 1, and at the same time Bhakra Nangal’s hydro power plant have operating costs of only Rs 0.10 per unit. And that all we are talking about home grown technology which is quite cheap.
8. The cost for river linking project initiated by Mr Atal Bihari was estimated around 250 billion dollars, and no need to tell about its advantages. http://www.aidboston.org/files/Interlinking%20Rivers.pdf
9. No technology is developed yet to dispose the nuclear waste.
Don't you think common people should know those facts?
Also read 2 Reports from Forbes.com on Nuclear deal published in Dec 06, and the World Bank Report on India's Hydro Power and its capacity.
Atomic PowerCashing In On India's Nuclear FutureRuth David, 12.15.06, 3:45 PM ET
MUMBAI, India -
Changes in U.S. regulations on trading nuclear technology with India may turn into big money for a host of firms looking to take advantage.
Weeks before the U.S. congress passed the nuclear bill with India, American companies went shopping in the country’s enormous energy market, looking for prospective clients who had needs ranging from nuclear fuels to reactors to radioactive waste elimination.
The largest trade mission from the U.S. to any country was in Mumbai last month, and 30 of its 250 members represented 14 American firms in the nuclear sector. Nuclear reactor manufacturers Westinghouse, General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ) and BWX Technologies and fuel processing specialist Thorium Power were among the companies who met nuclear policy officials and visited a nuclear site in India.
In view of the estimates, it's no surprise that foreign firms are so keen on getting into nuclear power generation. At present, India imports one-third of its domestic power needs.
Ron Summers of the U.S.-India Business Council says at least $100 billion worth of investment will be needed to develop nuclear energy here over the next 20 years.
Among the estimated 400 nuclear reactors in the world, the U.S. has 104 and India has just 16, though India's population is more than triple the size of the U.S. The government had set a target of generating 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2020, but it’s now expected to sharply expand that. India's ability to scale up its current production of 3,900 megawatts is restricted by its lack of access to the international nuclear fuel market.
New Delhi’s refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty resulted in the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group barring its members from exporting nuclear fuel to the energy-hungry nation.
Timothy J. Richards, the director of GE's International Energy Policy, says if the nuclear deal with the U.S. comes through and global restrictions are eased, his firm hopes to apply for licenses to develop nuclear technology. Power generation will be the key investment area.
Nuclear companies' reps say India can no longer afford to rely on nonrenewable, often polluting resources like wood, oil and coal to meet its growing energy needs. Nuclear fuel is also an affordable option. The Nuclear Power Corporation sells a kilowatt of power for 1 rupee (two American cents).
"We're trying to understand what India is interested in. Once the nuclear sector opens up, we want to make state-owned companies our customers, since only they can build nuclear plants," said Richards, speaking on the sidelines of the U.S.-India conference.
William E. Cummings, vice president of regulatory affairs and standardization at nuclear power plants at Westinghouse, says Indian firms are bound to be the key players, but his company wants to rapidly establish itself as a supplier to the domestic majors. Westinghouse is one of the world's largest providers of nuclear technology.
"The Indian market is huge, so if [the regulatory environment] changes just from zero to possible, there's enough business to make us interested," Cummings said.
American firms are also exploring ways they can partner with India to supply nuclear power globally. India's natural resources--it is home to nearly one-third of the world's thorium reserves--and an abundant skilled workforce make it an attractive investment.
"Indian and U.S. companies can join hands to meet nuclear energy needs in underdeveloped countries," says Craig S. Hansen, vice president of Washington operations at BWX Technologies. He says between 15 and 30 new nuclear plants will be needed each year in the global nuclear energy industry. The new ventures will generate around 600,000 jobs annually.
Already, uranium mining major WM Mining has agreed to sell 500 metric tons of uranium a year to India's Nuclear Fuel Complex, but the contract will be executed only after the nuclear arrangement with the U.S. is concluded.
This week, Congress passed legislation that will allow the U.S. to share civilian nuclear technology with India. U.S. companies reportedly played a key role in lobbying for the bill in the House and the Senate, both of which passed it by overwhelming margins.
President George W. Bush's signing of the nuclear bill marks the end of a freeze in nuclear ties that began in 1974. That year, India tested an atomic bomb without signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Under the new nuclear pact with the U.S., India will give international inspectors access to some of its nuclear plants.
The passage of the bill is also likely to see a strengthening in defense ties with India, which wants to buy fighter jets and submarines to upgrade its armed forces. Anticipating that demand, U.S. companies like Lockheed Martin Corp. (nyse: LMT - news - people ) and Northrop Grumman (nyse: NOC - news - people ) were among the defense firms that were part of the American trade team in India last month.
Members of the delegation led by Franklin L. Lavin, undersecretary of commerce for international trade, also held meetings with the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation and the Atomic Energy Commission.
"It's a very rudimentary discussion. We're reviewing technology and other requirements," Lavin said before the talks. "We're telling them, 'Here's what we think we do well.'"
India’s nuclear accord with the U.S. still has to clear key international hurdles. The Nuclear Suppliers Group, which seeks to limit the spread of atomic weapons, must approve the agreement. And New Delhi must work with the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, to decide a timetable for international inspections.
India’s critical need for power (A World Bank report)
Severe power shortage is one of the greatest obstacles to India’s development. Over 40 percent of the country’s people -- most living in the rural areas -- do not have access to electricity and one-third of Indian businesses cite expensive and unreliable power as one of their main business constraints.India’s energy shortfall of 10 percent (rising to 13.5 percent at peak demand) also works to keep the poor entrenched in poverty. Power shortages and disruptions prevent farmers from improving their agricultural incomes, deprive children of opportunities to study, and adversely affect the health of families in India’s tropical climate.Poor electricity supply thus stifles economic growth by increasing the costs of doing business in India, reducing productivity, and hampering the development of industry and commerce which are the major creators of employment in the country.
Hydropower development -- a key government initiative
To boost economic growth and human development, one of the Government of India’s top priorities is to provide all its citizens with reliable access to electricity by 2012. To ensure that the uncovered 40 percent of Indian homes get electricity by 2012, and to serve rising demand from those already being served by the power grid, the government estimates that the country will need to install an additional 100,000 MegaWatts (MW) of generating capacity by 2012, expanding grid-based generation to about 225,000 MW. Given that India added about 23,000 MW during the last Five Year Plan of 2002-2007, this will be quite a quantum jump.The Government of India has decided to acquire an inreasing portion of this additional power from the country’s vast untapped hydropower resources, only 23 percent of which has been harnessed so far. India’s energy portfolio today depends heavily on coal-based thermal energy, with hydropower accounting for only 26 percent of total power generation. The Government of India has set the target for India’s optimum power system mix at 40 percent from hydropower and 60 percent from other sources.Advantages of hydropowerWhen developed in accordance with good environmental and social practices, hydropower plants have the advantage of producing power that is both renewable and clean, as they emit less greenhouse gases than traditional fossil fuel plants and do not emit polluting suspended particulate matter (from the high ash-content of indigenous coal).Hydropower plants can also start up and shut down quickly and economically, giving the network operator the vital flexibility to respond to wide fluctuations in demand across seasons and at different times of the day. This flexibility is particularly important in a highly-populated country like India where household electricity demand is a significant portion of total demand and this demand in concentrated in a short period of time (usually in the evening). As an illustration, if the approximately 150 million households in India were to turn on two 100 watt light bulbs at 7 pm, the power system would experience an instantaneous surge in demand of about 30,000 MW! Today, this peak demand is often met by households turning on small gasolene and diesel generation units, which, in addition to being polluting, are a serious health hazard in congested areas. And, with rising wealth, households are switching on a lot more than two light bulbs. Although hydropower plants are subject to daily and seasonal variations in water flows (which affects the production of electricity at that point in time), they are not subject to the fluctuations in fuel costs that trouble thermal power plants.While hydropower plants have large up-front capital costs, they also have long and productive lives, which significantly help reduce costs over time. For example, the Bhakra Nangal plant, now more than 40 years old, has operating costs of only Rs 0.10 or US$ 0.002 per unit. Hydropower plants are thus generally cheaper in the long run than natural gas-based plants, which are constantly at risk from fuel price increases in the global market.While India plans to develop mainly run-of-the-river projects, multipurpose hydropower plants with water storage facilities can help manage critical water resources in an integrated manner by serving as flood controllers as well as sources of irrigation and much-needed drinking water. The Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand, for instance, which was commissioned in 2006, today caters to one-third of the drinking water needs of Delhi, India’s capital.Besides which, India’s hydro-resources are largely available in some of the least-developed parts of the country and hydropower plants, if designed appropriately offer significant potential for regional development and poverty alleviation. Hydropower projects that forge equitable systems of benefit-sharing and implement targeted local area development can help local communities improve the quality of their lives quite significantly.
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