Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire: India

Showing posts with label India. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Japanese Restrictions Could Threaten French Reactor Sale to India from GSN Daily News

Japanese restrictions on atomic trade with India could complicate plans for France to construct a new atomic power facility in the South Asian state, the head of the French nuclear firm Areva said yesterday (see GSN, March 13, 2008).
The company's design for the planned two-reactor atomic plant at Jaitapur calls for the use of "extra large forgings" available only from Japan, the Times of India quoted a diplomatic source as saying.
Areva chief operating officer Luc Orsel said the firm could find ways around the complication. However, he still urged India to conclude "a bilateral agreement" with Japan on civilian nuclear trade (see GSN, Nov. 15, 2010)
New Delhi and Tokyo have conducted multiple rounds of talks on a potential atomic trade deal. Japan, though, is said to have mandated Indian nonproliferation assurances considered more substantive than what the nuclear-armed South Asian nation accepted in its 2008 atomic trade deal with the United States. Tokyo wants India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, according to previous reports.
Japan has also called on New Delhi to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, according to the Times (Ashis Ray, Times of India, Jan. 12).

Monday, January 10, 2011

Russia keen to partner India in tapping thorium cycle

Russia offers to develop fast-neutron reactor with India
Russia and India are in talks to collaborate on a "new generation" fast-neutron reactor in a deal that would tap India's thorium fuel cycle, the Indian Department of Atomic Energy announced. If the agreement pushes through, thorium and uranium-233 would power electricity output from the reactors under India's three-stage nuclear energy program. The Hindu Business Line (India)

Friday, January 7, 2011

India opens new reprocessing plant

India opens new reprocessing plant
Nuclear scientists and engineers were called 'nation builders' by prime minister Manmohan Singh as he inaugurated India's latest reprocessing plant.

Singh opens the Power Reactor Fuel
Reprocessing Plant-2

The facility at Tarapur will break down highly radioactive used nuclear fuel to extract uranium and plutonium for reuse in fast neutron reactors.
"We have come a long way since the first reprocessing of spent fuel in India in 1964 at Trombay," said Singh at yesterday's ceremony, "The recycling and optimal utilization of uranium is essential to meet our current and future energy security needs."

There are already several reprocessing plants in India - all operated by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre - at Tarapur, Trombay and Kalpakkam. Small plants at each site were supplemented in 1998 by a new one of 100 tonnes per year at Kalpakkam, and this is now being extended to so that it may handle carbide fuel from the Fast Breeder Test Reactor.

The new plant inaugurated yesterday at Tarapur also has a capacity of 100 tonnes per year, and another entirely new facility is under construction at Kalpakkam.

Experts at the International Atomic Energy Agency told World Nuclear News that this second reprocessing plant at Tarapur is not among the facilities covered by the early 'type 66' safeguards agreement or the more comprehensive India-specific safeguards regime agreed last year.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Iran's Nuclear Domino Effect by Andrew Roberts

A former Bush defense official says that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan might initiate a dangerous alliance if Iran develops nuclear weapons. Andrew Roberts speaks to Eric Edelman about the unintended consequences for South Asia.

Might the impending nuclearization of Iran rapidly lead to a situation in which India targets nuclear weapons on Saudi Arabia? That is one of the many unnerving repercussions envisaged in an authoritative article, “The Dangers of a Nuclear Iran,” in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, written by, among others, Eric Edelman, President George W. Bush’s undersecretary of defense for policy from 2005 to 2009. When an analyst of Edelman’s seniority and ability, who moreover was working in the Pentagon with full access to all the available intelligence on precisely this issue as recently as two years ago, pronounces on questions of this gravity it behooves us to pay serious attention.
More at:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-01-02/irans-nuclear-weapons-could-lead-to-a-saudi-and-pakistan-alliance

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Maintaining the triad U.S. bomber force needs a new nuclear cruise missile BY ELBRIDGE COLBY AND THOMAS MOORE

Maintaining the triad

U.S. bomber force needs a new nuclear cruise missile

BY ELBRIDGE COLBY AND THOMAS MOORE

Monday, December 27, 2010

Time to go nuclear Building new generation of plants is only solution to dependency on oil

Nuclear power can reduce dependence on oil
To reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil, the U.S. needs to begin producing and using more nuclear power, according to this newspaper editorial. China is mass-producing nuclear reactors, and India says it will produce 470,000 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2050. Nuclear power can effectively replace oil better than solar and wind energy, which accounts for only 3% of today's energy use, this editorial argues. The Buffalo News (N.Y.)
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial-page/buffalo-news-editorials/article294027.ece

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Pakistan test fires nuclear-capable missile

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Pakistan_test_fires_nuclear-capable_missile_999.html Islamabad (AFP) Dec 21, 2010 Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test fired a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear and conventional warheads, the military said. The military said in a statement that Ghauri Hatf 5, with a range of 1,300 kilometres (800 miles), could carry conventional and other warheads.
The launch was conducted by the Army Strategic Force command's strategic missile group at the end of a field-training exercise aimed at testing the force's operational readiness, the statement said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee chairman General Khalid Shahmeem Wyne and other senior military officers and scientists witnessed the tests, it said.
"You have made the nation proud and we salute you for your outstanding work," Gilani told the scientists and engineers.
Gilani said Pakistan could be proud of its defence capability and the reliability of its nuclear deterrence. This capability, he added, formed the bedrock of Pakistan's security policy and will continue to be enhanced.
"The test amply demonstrates the credibility of our minimum deterrence strategy, which is the cornerstone of our security policy and ensures peace in the region," he said.
"It also sends the right signals internationally that Pakistan's defence capability is impregnable and should never be challenged."
Gilani said Pakistan was a responsible nation with an extremely reliable nuclear capability and did not harbor any aggressive designs against anyone.
South Asian rivals India and Pakistan -- which have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed territory of Kashmir -- have routinely carried out missile tests since both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability in 1998.
Pakistan's arsenal includes short-, medium- and long-range missiles named after Muslim conquerors.
"Let there be no doubt that Pakistan's armed forces are highly professional, motivated and fully capable of safeguarding Pakistan's security against all types of aggression," Gilani added.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Was Obama’s Asian tour a formation of a new nuclear alliance? Analysis by Hasbullah Shafi'iy

The glaring geopolitical significance of Obama’s well-planned strategic Asian tour last month has been deliberately or otherwise ignored by the mainstream media. India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. It cannot be by coincidence that these nations are encircling China (which has nuclear weapons) and secondly that they are all connected to a larger picture of nuclear alliances that are being formed. India is a nuclear power directly facing Pakistan, which is the only Muslim nation in the world that has nuclear weapons. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation with strong ties with Pakistan and Iran. South Korea faces North Korea, which has nuclear weapons. North Korea is not only a strong political as well as military ally of Iran, but also strong bilateral trade ties with China too; and Japan is situated next to both North Korea and China and is crucial to the containment policy against Russia, which is a nuclear power as well. Has the United States begun a containment policy for China as well?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

China & India's Nuclear energy plans to drive global Uranium demand

Australia, Canada, Namibia wait in the wings as India's nuclear market is projected to grow to around $40 billion by 2020 with 18 new nuclear plants planned before 2020http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72103?oid=116592&sn=Detail&pid=102055

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Obama's India visit: The nuclear outcome By J. Sri Raman

http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/obamas-india-visit-the-nuclear-outcome

Article Highlights

The joint statement issued between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offers insight into the future relationship -- and mutual understandings -- between the two nations.
India signed the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, which assuaged the fears for US suppliers that India's nuclear damages act would harm future business deals.
The nuclear deal between the US and India leave questions as to whether this is a relationship to promote nuclear disarmament or one to legitimize India's nuclear weapons program.

The French affair

The agreement on building nuclear power reactors was always going to be the centrepiece of President Nicholas Sarkozy's visit to India. France was quick off the mark to conclude a civilian nuclear agreement with India in 2008; and the framework agreement signed between the French nuclear firm Areva and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India to build two of the six planned reactors in Maharashtra was an outcome of this. Some issues relating to the proposed $9.3 billion deal need to be ironed out; these relate to Indian safety and cost concerns over Areva's advanced but yet-to-be-proven EPR reactors as well as French discomfort with the civilian nuclear liability legislation recently adopted by the Indian Parliament. While nuclear commerce will be an important new component of the bilateral relationship, Mr. Sarkozy's visit gave both countries an opportunity to come closer on a broad range of bilateral and global issues. The full-throated reaffirmation of French support for India's permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council has been warmly received. The resolve to enhance bilateral cooperation in the G20 to make it an effective tool for overhauling the international monetary system and for stabilising commodity prices, and to work together in international forums on issues such as Afghanistan, terrorism, and climate change are indicators of deepening political ties. At least in principle, all this should help India achieve a better balance in external relations, which are at present seriously distorted by strategic over-dependence on the United States and a lack of clear commitment to a multi-polar world order.
More at:
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article939983.ece

Monday, December 6, 2010

Sarkozy pushes nuclear deals in India

http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Sarkozy_pushes_nuclear_deals_in_India_999.html Bangalore, India (AFP) Dec 4, 2010 French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a four-day trip to India on Saturday, pitching for new nuclear energy contracts while stressing his hosts' increased power in world affairs. Sarkozy, accompanied by his wife Carla Bruni, is the latest in a long line of world leaders beating a path to India, the world's second-fastest growing major economy.
His visit comes after those by British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama in recent months, and will be followed in swift succession by China's Premier Wen Jiabao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
Sarkozy, accompanied by a bevy of ministers and a large delegation of business leaders, will lobby for multibillion-dollar contracts for fighter jets and nuclear technology, an industry in which France has a leading position.
"We all know how critical it is for India to ensure its energy security," Sarkozy said in a speech at the Indian Space Research Organisation in the southern Indian technology and IT hub Bangalore.
Stressing that he welcomed a US-led deal in 2008 to free up trade in nuclear technology with India, Sarkozy said France was "proud" to be accompanying the country in its quest for greater atomic power.
India's environment ministry last weekend gave clearance for a project worth an estimated one trillion rupees (22 billion dollars) which will see French state nuclear company Areva supply six third-generation pressurised water reactors.
Like Cameron and Obama before him, Sarkozy emphasised India's increased influence in the world, which analysts say stems from its fast-growing economy and its resistance to the global financial crisis.
Western democracies are also seen as embracing India as a natural ally to counterbalance the influence in Asia of authoritarian China.
"India is probably far greater and stronger than even it probably realises," Sarkozy said, adding that he expected the rupee to emerge one day as a world currency.
Sarkozy reiterated France's support for India to gain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, which was also backed by Obama during his trip to New Delhi last month.
He also said he welcomed cooperation in space that will lead the two countries to jointly launch satellites to monitor the climate and oceans next year, and expressed a desire for more Indians to study in French universities.
The president, who faces low approval ratings at home, heads a high-powered delegation of seven ministers and around 60 chief executives, including the heads of aircraft-makers Dassault Aviation and EADS, and Areva.
Dassault is hoping to pick up a 1.2-billion dollar contract to revamp 56 Mirage-2000 aircraft that France sold India nearly two decades ago, though Indian officials have said no defence deals will be signed during the visit.
India's ambitious military spending plans, spread across all three wings of its armed forces, are a source of intense competition among foreign arms manufacturers.
Dassault and EADS are both in the running, together with US and Swedish rivals, for an 11-billion-dollar tender by the Indian Air Force to purchase 126 warplanes.
Sarkozy and Bruni, who wore a classic peach-coloured combination as she stepped off the presidential plane in Bangalore, will visit the Taj Mahal on Sunday.
Sarkozy's visit to India is his first to a G20 state since France took the presidency of the group of developed and major developing economic powers.
During talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday in New Delhi, he is expected to push his plans for overhauling the global monetary system and combating commodity price volatility.
The two leaders are also expected to focus their discussions on Afghanistan and counter-terrorism.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

India racing to buy an untried reactor?

The EPR is still a reactor in the making, whose design is likely to undergo serious modification before it can be built as a series.

The announcement last week by the Finnish utility TVO of yet another year-long delay in the construction of the new Areva European Pressurised Reactor/Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) being built at Olkiluoto in southern Finland has re-launched the controversy surrounding the world's biggest, most expensive and as yet untried nuclear reactor.

India is slated to purchase up to six of these reactors, of which the first two alone carry an estimated price tag of €11 billion. A memorandum of understanding for the sale of two EPRs was signed in 2009 and there are chances that a framework agreement will be signed during French President Nicolas Sarkozy's working visit to India which began on December 4. More at:

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article933910.ece?homepage=true

Monday, November 29, 2010

China Huaneng to Buy Stake in Power Company BY SATISH SARANGARAJAN

MUMBAI—China Huaneng Group agreed to buy India-based GMR Group's 50% stake in a U.S.-based power-generation company for $1.23 billion, expanding Chinese investment in overseas energy assets.

State-run China Huaneng Group is a major Chinese power producer with generation projects in China and abroad.
The deal for the stake in InterGen, announced Sunday, was one of several energy transactions in recent months involving Chinese ...http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704700204575643672807661734.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews

Sunday, November 28, 2010

India nuclear plant with French reactors gets green go-ahead

http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/India_nuclear_plant_with_French_reactors_gets_green_go-ahead_999.html

New Delhi (AFP) Nov 28, 2010 India on Sunday gave environmental clearance for a nuclear power plant to be built in collaboration with French firm Areva, days ahead of President Nicolas Sarkozy's scheduled visit to New Delhi. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said the go-ahead for the Jaitapur plant in Maharashtra state, which will use nuclear reactors supplied by Areva, was granted with 35 conditions and safeguards.
"From an environmental point of view, nuclear energy is a cleaner option than coal," Ramesh said in a press release, adding that he has called for further studies into the power station's potential environmental impact.
A 34-year-old embargo on civilian nuclear exchanges with India, imposed in 1974 following a series of Indian nuclear tests, was lifted in 2008 after years of negotiations between India and the United States.
France has since signed an agreement with India covering nuclear energy cooperation, while Russia has also signed a similar accord.
The power station will be situated in the coastal region of Maharashtra, home to India's financial capital of Mumbai, and has faced protests from locals and anti-nuclear activists.
Ramesh said nuclear energy accounted for about 2.9 percent of India's energy generation, and the government wanted to increase the figure to six percent by 2020 and possibly 13 percent by 2030.
Some local media reported that Areva and the Indian state-run Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) would sign the agreement during Sarkozy's trip to Delhi.
The French president's itinerary has yet to be confirmed but he is expected to arrive in India at the end of next week.
The NPC predicts the first reactor, costing an estimated four to six billion euros (5.3-7.9 billion dollars) will be commissioned in 2017-18.
The proposed project will eventually have six reactors generating 1,650 megawatts each. It has several more government regulatory hurdles to overcome before being given the final go-ahead.
India is dependent on oil imports for 70 percent of its fast-expanding energy needs, and is on the hunt for new sources to fuel its rapid growth.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Sea level rise may affect atomic plants in Tamil Nadu Bombay News.Net

http://www.bombaynews.net/story/711322

Wednesday 24th November, 2010 (IANS)

The Kalpakkam atomic power station near Chennai in Tamil Nadu may have escaped the fury of the deadly tsunami six years ago, but it need not be second time lucky.

A new study says the Madras Atomic Power Station - as it is formally called - and another station under construction in Kudankulam are at risk of being affected by the anticipated one-metre sea level rise (SLR) as early as 2050 due to climate change.

'A one-metre rise in average sea level will permanently inundate about 1,091 sq km along the Tamil Nadu coast, but the total area at risk will be nearly six times as much,' says the study released in Chennai.

'These nuclear power stations and their associated infrastructure are located just beyond the zone estimated to be directly at risk from storm surges from a 1-metre SLR,' says Sujatha Byravan, senior researcher at the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) in Chennai and principal author of the study.

The Madras Atomic Power Station 1&2 reactors are at elevations of 5-10 metres above current mean sea level, while the Kudankulam nuclear power plant is even higher.

'Nevertheless, both are very close to the shoreline and are of concern because of the risk associated with coastal erosion,' the study says.

The report was co-authored with Rajesh Rangarajan of CDF and Sudhir Chella Rajan, humanities and social sciences professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.

The authors admit that the exact rise in sea level resulting from climate change is highly debatable and that their estimate of one-metre SLR by 2050 is 'conservative'.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expects a maximum SLR of 59 centimetres by 2100 while the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research suggests a rise in mean sea level of up to 1.4 metres by 2100 and other scientists anticipate SLR of one to several metres, Byravan says.

The study warns that unless advanced planning is made to deal with the impacts of climate change, 'the country is in danger of finding itself in extremely dire circumstances'.

The authors note that major, existing and proposed, economic and infrastructure developments, including ports, power plants, highways and even airports, are being planned very close to the shoreline along India's coast.

The study concentrates on the impact of SLR in India's southern-most state of Tamil Nadu that has a coastline of about 1,076 km - about 15 percent of India's total.

The authors estimate the total replacement value of infrastructure (ports, power plants and major roads) in the state to be Rs.474 billion-Rs.535 billion.

The largest impact will be on the land at risk with an estimated market value of Rs.3,176 billion-Rs.61,154 billion - much higher than the state's annual GDP of Rs.2,500 billion ($54 billion), the study says.

The authors say they used Geographic Information Systems and information available in the public domain to calculate the financial implications of SLR.

They point out that their study provides an 'early warning' of the implications of indiscriminate development close to the shoreline.

Although Tamil Nadu was chosen for the case study, 'its findings will provide the basis for conducting more detailed studies covering larger portions of the Indian peninsula,' the authors say.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Computer Worm Targeted Centrifuges

Experts examining a computer worm suspected of targeting Iran's nuclear program have determined that it was calibrated in a way that could send nuclear centrifuges wildly out of control (NYT). The worm was found primarily in Iran but also on computers in India, Indonesia and other countries.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

France, Russia looking towards India for nuclear collaboration

France and Russia are among several other countries which are looking towards collaborating with India on nuclear power for global markets, principal scientific adviser to the government, R Chidambaram said today.
As a result of the Indo-US nuclear agreement, nuclear supplier guidelines have undergone few changes, following which many countries, including France and Russia, are talking about partnering with India, he said delivering a talk on 'Energy Technology, Energy Security and Climate Change' at the College of Defence Management (CDM) in Hyderabad.
"They (France and Russia) are not just looking at India as a temporary market but they are all looking for joining (partnership) with India and looking for global markets not only in nuclear power but other sectors," Chidambaram said.
"And that's what we should aim for... to reach for global markets as for as possible with our own efforts and later with international collaboration," he said.
After the Indo-US nuclear deal, projections on nuclear power have been raised and it (nuclear) is expected over 60,000mw by 2032 while till 2020 nuclear power was projected at 20,000mw, the former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre said.
"Export oriented IT service has created lot of wealth in the country, but if you want to think of India as a developed country you have to become a global leader in manufacturing," he emphasised.
Quoting a report issued by the Deloitte Global Manufacturing Industry group and the US Council on Competitiveness, Chidambaram said they have put India on the second rank after China in the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index for 2010.More at:

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_france-russia-looking-towards-india-for-nuclear-collaboration_1468684

China diversifies sources of uranium as nuclear power industry grows

TIANJIN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China is diversifying its sources of uranium to meet the rising demand in developing the nuclear power industry.
"Exploration and exploitation of domestic uranium will be prioritized for the country's mid- and long-term development of nuclear power," said Lu Xiaoming, director of the Nuclear Fuel Division of the China Atomic Energy Authority, at the China Mining Conference and Expo in north China's port city of Tianjin Thursday.
"We should rely on our own resources to acquire uranium," said Lu. "We will intensify our geological survey efforts to have a clear understanding of uranium resources, and bring technical innovation to the exploration and exploitation of uranium for greater efficiency."
China has accelerated the construction of nuclear power plants in recent years as the government seeks to readjust the country's energy mix to protect the environment for sustainable development.
When used in the civilian sector to fuel nuclear power plants, one kilogram of uranium-235 can theoretically produce as much energy as 3,000 tonnes of coal. More at:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2010-11/18/c_13612126.htm

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

GE Expects India Sales to Grow 30% Annually

NEW DELHI—General Electric Co. expects to grow its business in India by 30% annually over the next several years as Asia's third-largest economy offers huge opportunities in transportation, nuclear reactors and many other sectors, the chief executive of its local unit said Monday.
"We are huge optimists on India overall," John L. Flannery told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "The country has incredible depth and breadth and momentum behind it...The government has done a great job in developing markets, while private companies here are phenomenal." More at:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704584504575615963770507630.html?mod=dist_smartbrief