Non-fossil fuels news summary for the months of June and July
India
India’s tryst with nuclear power appears to be caught between the approval that India’s leaders convey to international nuclear suppliers for any number of new nuclear plants that they will be allowed to build in India and the disapproval that it encounters from local masses for these proposed plants. The latest reported is the proposed nuclear power plant at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. The international nuclear supplier is Westinghouse which was promised the opportunity of building six nuclear plants in India (including the Kovvada plant) when leaders met in Washington during the first week of June. The script for the Kovvada plant is playing out as it did in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu: The politician who has to win a local or State election expresses solidarity with the local people mobilised to oppose the plant by well-meaning but often ill-informed civil society organisations. What the politician is looking for is votes but once he gets the votes from the protesters and comes to power, he swiftly reverses his stand and embraces nuclear power. What the politician wants when he is in power are electricity, money and largesse from the Central Government. The poor masses who put their faith in the politician are quietly sent to jail on sedition charges. But there is one notable number quoted by the left parties agitating against the Kovvada plant that needs a closer look. If the capital cost of the plant is ₹480 million (about USD seven million) per MW is anywhere close to the truth it is definitely a reason to rethink the plant.
Towards the end of June, the second unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant that the Russians are building in Tamil Nadu was reported to be ready to generate power. Unit I of the much delayed Kudankulam plant currently contributes 1000 MW or roughly one fifth of India’s 5780 MW nuclear power generating capacity. Unit I of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant in Gujarat has been shut down since March on account of a leak.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) got its first nuclear insurance policy providing a risk cover of ₹15 billion at a premium of ₹1 billion. The policy is said to comply with the provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Act.
On the fusion front, India was reported to have started delivery of components for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project. Other countries involved in the project are European Union, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US. Private companies are reported to be building components including Cryosat, cooling water systems, vessel in-wall shielding blocks, radio frequency heating sources, cryo-distribution and cryolines, power supplies, diagnostic neutral beam system and diagnostic systems for the project. December 2025 is the new schedule for the completion of the project. On the whole nuclear power is moving ahead slowly and steadily in India.
On hydropower, there was news of a comprehensive policy to boost hydropower projects being devised by policy makers. Provisions such as viability gap funding, including hydro-power projects with capacity greater than 25 MW in renewable purchase obligations are to be included in the new policy. Power generated from hydro-power is currently charged at cost plus basis which inhibits efficiency. It appears that the industry is looking for long term assurance on tariff.
On new renewables such as solar and wind, there was a flood of news on how renewables are reining on policy, rhetoric, investment, investment commitments and capacity additions. The most important in June probably was the commitment of USD one billion loan for India’s solar mission by the World Bank during the visit of the World Bank President to India. India is the largest client of the World Bank with loans of about USD 4.8 billion between 2015 and 2016. India expects investment of over USD 160 billion in renewable energy in the next decade. The German Development Bank KFW has already agreed to offer India low-interest loans of around €1 billion over the next five years to fund roof-mounted solar panels and the construction of solar energy farms and self-contained solar power facilities not connected to the grid.
Greenpeace India continued its war on coal with the request to the Indian government that it should not delay halting its expansion plans for coal plants. The trigger was the report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) that said 85% of particulate matter and almost all of the sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides result from fuel combustion. According to the report, around 60% of global combustion-related sulphur dioxide emissions originate from coal.
Tata Group, India’s biggest conglomerate was reported to be following a shadow carbon price in the group as many oil & gas companies such as Statoil ASA of Norway are doing. Statoil, Europe’s biggest natural gas producer currently has a shadow price of $50/tonne of CO2. The benchmark European Union carbon price was around $6 per tonne or less in June-July 2016.
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