As India looks to boost its nuclear power generation, the government is considering allowing foreign companies to own up to a 49% stake in Indian nuclear power plants, government sources told Reuters on Friday.
Even if India passes amendments in its nuclear foreign investment laws to allow up to 49% foreign stakes, any foreign investment will likely still need prior government approval, according to Reuters’ sources.
Currently, India has 8 gigawatts (GW) of operating nuclear capacity, operated by the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
In February, the federal budget outlined plans for a significant push toward nuclear energy as part of India’s long-term energy transition strategy. The government now targets the country to have 100 GW of nuclear power generation capacity installed by 2047, “positioning nuclear energy as a major pillar in India’s energy mix,” the cabinet said.
India’s government could also accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants by attracting foreign firms if it changes the liability laws.
India plans to remove an unlimited liability clause in its nuclear energy laws in a bid to attract foreign firms, especially U.S. companies, to its nuclear energy sector.
The Indian Department of Atomic Energy has prepared a bill that would remove a clause in the Civil Nuclear Liability Damage Act of 2010 that exposes suppliers to unlimited liability if accidents occur, government sources told Reuters earlier this month.
India’s largest power utility, NTPC, plans to invest over the next two decades $62 billion in building 30 GW of nuclear generation capacity, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters earlier this year.
NTPC is also reportedly looking to hire consultants for feasibility studies for small modular reactors that could potentially replace some of the utility’s old coal-fired power plants.
NTPC has issued India’s first such exploratory tender for SMRs, which are considered to be the future of nuclear power.