June 17, 2012

Despite huge protest to set up a nuclear power plant at the coastal area of Maharashtra after the accident of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, India and France has come to sign a deal regarding to establishing India’s largest Nuclear Power plant that will generate 9,900 Mega Watt (MW) of electricity.

Indian state run company Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCI) along with private company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is going to set up six units of 1,650 MW each nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Maharashtra, for which India has seek the technical help of French Energy major Areva.

A broad agreement for the plant was signed in December 2010 with Areva and the Nuclear Power Corp as principal executors.

Similar nuclear power projects in Europe were expected to have entailed a cost of $2 billion for each unit of 1,500 MW. Units with similar technology are currently operational only in France and Finland.

India asked French Nuclear Safety Authority to have a re-look at the EPR design and suggest modifications if needed. Department of Atomic Energy received the review in January 2012, it was scrutinised by DAE and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

The wait now is to formal signing of the agreement and Cabinet approval.