Adani Group, the conglomerate of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, is in talks with the state government of India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state on a public-private partnership to build small modular reactors (SMRs) as India opens its nuclear energy sector to private investment.
Adani Group is in discussions with Uttar Pradesh officials to build eight SMRs with capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) each at yet-to-be-identified sites in the state, anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Friday.
A potential deal would give Adani’s conglomerate a total of 1.6 GW of total nuclear capacity with SMRs and could place the private firm at the forefront of India’s nuclear development.
Adani’s reported efforts to enter India’s nuclear power sector come as the country is opening its nuclear industry to private investment and participation as it seeks to boost domestic power capacity to meet soaring demand.
This week, the government said that its Nuclear Energy Mission targets 100 GW capacity by 2047 “through deployment of existing and emerging advanced nuclear technologies, both indigenous & with foreign cooperation.”
The federal government plans to spend as much as $2.23 billion (200 billion Indian rupees) on research and development of SMRs.
Earlier this year, a panel set up by India’s power ministry said in a report that India’s goal to boost its installed nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047, up from just 8.8 GW now, would require as much as 19.28 trillion Indian rupees, or $214 billion at current exchange rates, of cumulative capital.
“Substantial technical and financial resources will be required for accelerated deployment of 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047,” the panel said.
“The private sector has abundant capital, and inherent efficiency in timely construction and innovation adaption.”
A public-private partnership with Adani would give the conglomerate an early-mover status in India’s new nuclear power industry.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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