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India Becomes the Main Battlefield for Nuclear Power Competition among Countries
It was reported on June 13 that US President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached an agreement on the construction of nuclear power plants in India by Westinghouse Electric (WH), a subsidiary of Toshiba, during their summit meeting on June 7. India's power shortage problem has become increasingly severe due to rapid economic growth, and nuclear power generation will become the focus of power development in the future. As India continues to promote the localization of nuclear power plants and open up the market, the competition for the nuclear power market in India will become more intense among countries such as the United States, Japan and France.A joint statement issued by Modi and Obama after the meeting said they "welcome Westinghouse and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to complete the contract by June 2017." The design and siting of the reactor "will start soon."
Westinghouse Electric will build six new nuclear reactors in India by 2030. The power generation capacity is approximately 6 million kilowatts. The total cost has not been disclosed, but it is expected to reach US$20 billion.
It is not only the United States that is optimistic about the Indian nuclear power market. France also reached an agreement with India in early 2016 to "launch a development plan in western India in 2017." Although a formal contract has not yet been signed, this is the first time in about 40 years that Western countries have launched nuclear power competition in India. In addition, Japan also "reached an agreement in principle" on signing the Japan-India Nuclear Energy Agreement at the end of 2015, and may export nuclear energy to India in the future.
India currently has 21 reactors in operation with a power generation capacity of 5.78 million kilowatts, ranking 14th in the world. Future nuclear power expansion plans are of great concern. It is planned to add about 40 reactors by 2032 and increase the power generation capacity to more than 10 times. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India's scale of new nuclear power plants will be second only to China's in 2040.
Affected by the nuclear leakage accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the demand for nuclear power in developed countries peaked. The main battlefield in the future will shift to emerging countries, and India is at the center of the main battlefield.
70% of India's power generation depends on thermal power generation. The Indian government plans to significantly increase the proportion of nuclear power, which currently accounts for only 2%, to increase power generation capacity while controlling carbon dioxide emissions.
However, India once had the only option of domestically produced nuclear power plants. India forcibly conducted nuclear tests in 1974 without joining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and has been excluded from the international nuclear power market ever since. After 1974, India imported only 2 reactors from Russia, one of which is in operation.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifted restrictions on the supply of nuclear technology and fuel to India in 2008, and the United States and France subsequently signed a nuclear energy agreement with India that year. This paves the way for the introduction of high-efficiency imported reactors in India. India's law, implemented domestically in 2010, stipulates that nuclear power manufacturers will also bear liability for accident compensation. As a result, India's negotiations with foreign companies have stalled. Recently, India ratified an international norm called the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), which stipulates that the country shall bear accident compensation within a certain amount, and the excess shall be borne by the contracting states. India is working hard to address the concerns of foreign-invested companies, but there are still issues where domestic laws conflict with international norms.
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