(Bloomberg) — Tata Power Co. expects to build its first nuclear plant as early as 2032, after India ended a decades-old state monopoly in atomic power to bolster its energy security while decarbonizing.
The company has shortlisted sites in at least three states to build nuclear projects and will start work after the government finalizes the rules for private companies, Chief Executive Officer Praveer Sinha said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday.
“What we can expect is that early part of 2028 we will start possibly the construction activity,” Sinha said. “We are targeting that 2032-2033, we will have the first of the nuclear plants ready in the private sector.”
The South Asian nation’s nuclear push mirrors a global revival of the industry. Countries are shedding the caution that followed the 2011 Fukushima disaster as surging electricity demand from artificial intelligence and data centers revives interest in atomic power. Japan is restarting reactors, while China, South Korea, and Bangladesh are among the nations building new ones.
Tata Power has identified sites in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Gujarat and geotechnical studies have already started, according to Sinha.
He expects the government to clarify issues such as long-term uranium supplies and price stability as it finalizes the rules of the nuclear bill. “We expect the approval process will take 12 to 14 months,” he added.
Last year, India’s parliament passed a bill that opened up the sector to private firms, with an ambitious goal of expanding the country’s nuclear generation capacity eleven-fold by 2047. The sector supplies just 3% of India’s electricity now, with state-owned Nuclear Power Corp., operating the entire capacity of 8.8 gigawatts. The expansion will require nearly 19.3 trillion rupees ($202 billion) in investment, according to a government panel.
Earlier this month, Australia agreed to supply uranium for India’s civil nuclear program and expand energy cooperation during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit.
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