The United States and India are exploring ways for “practical” civil nuclear energy cooperation amid a global energy crisis triggered by the ongoing Russia–Ukraine war, reviving a 2008 deal that had fallen into disuse.
Geoffrey R. Pyatt, U.S. assistant secretary of state for energy resources, said on Feb. 20 that he discussed the issues that had hampered civil nuclear cooperation between the two nations with his Indian counterparts.
The two countries have been discussing the supply of U.S. nuclear reactors to India since a 2008 landmark civil nuclear energy pact. But a longstanding obstacle has been the need to bring Indian liability rules in line with international norms, which require the costs of any accident to be channeled to the operator rather than the maker of a nuclear power station.
“I am very focused on how we can develop opportunities for future civil nuclear cooperation, recognizing that if we are stuck at issues, we have to work them through—the famous liability question,” Pyatt told Press Trust of India.
Pyatt, who took a two-day trip to New Delhi starting on Feb. 16, referred to India as a vital partner in strengthening global energy security, and he emphasized the importance of their bilateral energy cooperation.
“The business model of the civil nuclear industry is changing. In the U.S., we made a huge commitment to small and marginal reactors, which could be particularly suitable to the Indian environment as well,” he said.
In 2016, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and U.S. energy firm Westinghouse agreed to build six nuclear reactors in the Indian state of Andra Pradesh, but the project was abandoned after Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
Pyatt said that India was keen to advance the partnership but didn’t go into detail about their future projects. He said that Washington also seeks to boost cooperation with India in the green hydrogen sector.
India to Build 10 Nuclear Reactors
Jitendra Singh, an Indian minister of state for science and technology, said on Feb. 19 that the government had approved the installation of 10 nuclear reactors in the country, including one in Haryana, North India.According to the Atomic Energy Department, two indigenously designed pressurized heavy water reactors with a capacity of 700 megawatts will be built near Gorakhpur village in the Fatehabad district of Haryana.
“[To] date, an amount of 4,906 crores ($59,306) has been spent from the total allocated funds of 20,594 crores ($356,659),” the department said in a statement.
Singh said the government also plans to form joint ventures with public sector organizations for the opening of atomic energy plants that will help meet the country’s energy demands “in times to come.”
India has planned to reduce power generation from at least 81 coal-fired plants over the next four years, but the proposal didn’t involve shutting down any of its 179 coal power plants. India hasn’t set a formal timeline for phasing down coal use.
Last month, India asked utilities not to retire coal-fired power plants till 2030 due to a surge in electricity demand, according to a federal power ministry notice reviewed by Reuters.
“It is advised to all power utilities not to retire any thermal (power generation) units till 2030 and ensure availability of units after carrying out renovation and modernization activities if required,” the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said in a notice dated Jan. 20 sent to officials in the federal power ministry.
The CEA, which acts as an adviser to the ministry, cited a December 2022 meeting in which the federal power minister had asked that aging thermal power plants not be retired, and to instead increase the lifetime of such units “considering [the] expected demand scenario.”
India, the world’s second-largest consumer, producer, and importer of coal, fell short of its 2022 renewable energy addition target by nearly a third. Coal accounts for nearly three-quarters of annual electricity generation.
Power demand in India has surged in recent months due to extreme weather, rising household use of electricity as more companies allow employees to work from home, and a pickup in industrial activity after the easing of COVID-related restrictions.
