Jaitapur: A risky and expensive project (The nuclear power problem continues)

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 Jaitapur: A risky and expensive project (The nuclear power problem continues)

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• Jaitapur nuclear plant, Maharashtra : The French firm EDF gave a proposal to Indian govt. in December 2018 to import six nuclear EPRs (European Pressurised Reactors). Earlier, this was mooted by the UPA govt., but did not materialise. Now it's speeding up.
• EDF and NPCIL agreement : Both signed an "industrial way forward" agreement in March 2018, and now the GoI wants to quickly start the project. But the techno-commercial offer is not yet examined. Costs and safety issues are unaddressed.
• Indian power sector : More than anything, India has surplus power, and a new NPA problem in energy sector (34 stressed power projects - March 2018). Demand for power is not growing as fast as the capacity is. Jaitapur may be too risky!
• Expensive electricity : Jaitapur nuclear power may be costlier than solar and wind power. In general EPRs have faced delays worldwide, raising costs. First EPR started in China (Dec. 2018), five years delayed. European story is even more horrible.
• Solar going cheaper : As nuclear becomes costlier, solar power tariffs are reducing. Today it is lower than Rs.5 per unit. Winning tariff bids in recent projects are as low as Rs.2 per unit!
• NPCIL debt underwritten by GoI : The huge capital investment may not be justified, and it is all public money.
• Safety problems : Many EPRs have shown problems with the pressure vessels, that contain the radioactivity. Couple that with the nuclear liability law of India. Since Jaitapur will be the largest nuclear plant in the world, in case of any accident, the NPCIL has to compensate all victims and clean everything up, but EDF will be left with little responsibility.
• Details of the law : NPCIL has a limited opportunity to obtain compensation from EDF for "equipment with defects" etc. But in March 2018, the India-France declaration severely limited NPCIL's rights o recourse.
• Moral hazard : If EDF can escape without consequences, then why will it spend to maintain the highest standards at all?
• Scrap the project : The overpriced French equipment aren't worth anything!
• Summary : To procure the EPRs from France for the Jaitapur nuclear power plant will prove to be a big mistake, and must be avoided.

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