nuclear-news

All is not rosy in the scramble to market nuclear power to India

Abe visit unlikely to lead to nuclear deal with India’s Modi, Japan Times, BY RAJESH KUMAR SINGH BLOOMBERG, 5 Dec 15  “……Modi will use Abe’s visit next week to lobby Japan to join the list of countries India can rely on for nuclear technology or fuel to help bring reliable and clean power to its 1.3 billion people. Japan, the only country to suffer nuclear attacks, has refrained from sealing a deal because India has not yet joined the global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

“Prime Minister Abe’s visit will speed up the talks and I hope the deal can be signed when the two heads of state meet the next time,” Sekhar Basu, secretary at the Department of Atomic Energy, said in an interview in New Delhi. “We’re making very good progress, but I don’t think we are in a position to sign a deal during this meeting,” which starts Dec. 11……

A deal with Japan would strengthen ties to U.S. reactor suppliers Westinghouse Electric Co., controlled by Toshiba Corp., and General Electric Co., which has a venture with Hitachi Ltd. It’ll also help India access cheaper financing and specialized steel from Japan used for nuclear projects, Basu said.

“The two governments are currently negotiating a nuclear treaty,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday. “India has not signed the NPT and the government is aware of various arguments concerning nuclear cooperation with India.”

Even if it signs a deal with Japan, India’s efforts to raise nuclear capacity are challenged by laws that leave equipment makers, in addition to the plant operators, liable for accidents. Foreign and local suppliers including General Electric Co. have opposed the rules……http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/12/04/business/abe-visit-unlikely-lead-nuclear-deal-indias-modi/#.VmNKF9J97Gj

December 6, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general