Mumbai: India is expected to produce
35,000 MW of nuclear power by 2020, a senior official from
Atomic Energy Commission said.
"The total nuclear power generation of India is
expected to reach 35,000 MW by 2020," Atomic Energy Commission
Chairman and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Director, S
Banerjee, told PTI on the sidelines of a function conducted by
Jadavpur University Alumni Association Mumbai Branch (JUAAM),
on nuclear power.
"But the nuclear power will account for less than 10
percent of the total demand in 2020, as by that time, demand
for power will have reached 3,50,000 MW-4,00,000 MW," he said.
He said that India'a nuclear power generation program
needs support from the private sector as well.
"It’s a wrong notion that only Government is doing all
activities in the nuclear power program. We need the industry
support also. TCS, an IT company under Tatas, are our partner
for decades," Banerjee said.
He, however, said that the private players can play
only a minor role in power generation.
"The present Atomic Energy Act allows private parties
to be only the minor stakeholders in generation of power. No
private company can jump into the production which does not
have the expertise. A lot of safety and security concerns are
there," he said.
He said now there are many joint ventures in the
pipeline, including that of private-public partnership model,
for nuclear power.
"NTPC has already signed an agreement with Nuclear
Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for nuclear power
generation. There are a lot of activities going on and
companies like Nalco have also come forward for production of
nuclear power," he said.
Recently, L&T and NPCIL together announced a joint
venture for equipment manufacturing, where L&T owns the
controlling stake, he added.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, March 21, 2010, 18:45