nuclear-news

India’s state-owned monopoly Nuclear Power Corp. had signed an initial pact with Areva in 2010 for the supply and installation of equipment needed for building two nuclear power reactors of 1,650 megawatts each at Jaitapur in the western state of Maharashtra. The plan is to eventually build a total of six reactors with a combined capacity of 9.9 gigawatts, which would be the biggest nuclear power complex in India at a single location.

But the cost of the equipment has risen due to the higher cost of borrowing as well as a slide in the rupee’s value against the U.S. dollar this year, which would more than double the cost of electricity generation from an initial estimate of about 4 rupees (6.4 U.S. cents) per unit.

“The price of electricity from the project once it becomes operational can not be more than 6.50 rupees,” said R.K. Sinha, chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, the country’s top nuclear policy making body. “Negotiations are still on.”

An Areva India executive, who declined to be named, said negotiations on the sale of the equipment are still under way, while Areva India chairman and managing director Erwan Hinault didn’t immediately respond to emailed queries.

Nuclear Power Corp. had earlier expected to sign an agreement with Areva for the supply of equipment for the first two reactors by end-2012, but negotiations remained inconclusive. Global nuclear equipment companies such as Areva, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Westinghouse Electric Co. have been keen to capitalize on India’s plans to spend billions of dollars to boost its nuclear power capacity. More than half of India’s 228 gigawatts of total power generation capacity is based on coal, which is in short supply…. http://online.wsj.com/article/DN-CO-20131128-003020.html?dsk=