India's first private-sector nuclear tender plagued by cost, funding issues

India’s first tender calling for privatesector participation in small nuclear reactors —a bellwether for long-awaited reforms in the nuclear power industry — is facing repeated delays.

- S DINAKAR

This comes after bidders like Tata Power, Reliance Industries and Adani Energy raised several queries relating to ownership, charges and operations, which threaten to make the projects unviable, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) documents show and senior industry officials said.

State-owned NPCIL announced a tender in March 2024 for a stepped down version of indigenously-produced nuclear reactors. It is to support the government's plans to involve India’s private sector in the nuclear power business.

‘The tender, which proposed to develop a minimum capacity of two units of 220 megawatts (Mw) Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) at a single site for captive use, has attracted inquiries from ACME Solar, BHEL, BSNL, Bharat Aluminum, Greenko, Godrej & Boyce, HPCL Mittal, ITC, JSW Energy, Indian Railways and Torrent Power, among others, according to NPCIL documents.

The minimum criterion for captive usage is 51 per cent.

Reliance Industries, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Power, and Hindalco Industries have submitted necessary documents to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with NPCIL. But Adani Power and JSW Energy are yet to sign NDAs, an NPCIL document dated September 29 shows.

The bidders have proposed 16 sites in six states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

There have been several delays in the tender process because of the wide chasm between NPCIL and the bidders over the terms, according to. a 72-page document on NPCIL website.