India Nuclear News and Discussion 4 July 2011

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 15 Oct 2012 10:55

Tamil Nadu's N-reactor's cost will push up: Russia

Ahead of a key bilateral meeting, Russia today said the cost of the third and fourth unit of the Kudankulam atomic power plant would escalate if it is brought under the purview of India's civil nuclear liability law over which differences remained.

Russia also said the row over its telecom firm Sistema after the cancellation of 2G licenses will have a "great repercussion" not only for bilateral cooperation but also for foreign investments into India. It hoped a solution that is acceptable to both parties can be reached.

"If there are several points that require additional assurances, of course, it will require additional money to be paid by India," visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told reporters in response to questions on the possibility of India bringing the two new units of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu under the ambit of its nuclear liability law.

Rogozin along with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will co-chair the meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) here tomorrow.

Differences in perception over the nuclear liability law have become a bone of contention between India and Russia in negotiations on units III and IV. The law makes foreign suppliers liable for compensation in the event of accidents.

Russia argues that the civil nuclear liability law should not apply to these units as the agreement on them predates the 2010 civil liability law, and could be seen as "grandfathered" by the original 1988 agreement while India has clearly stated that making an exception for Russia will amount to diluting its law which will encourage the US and France to seek similar exemptions, which it cannot afford.

The estimated cost of units III and IV is USD 6.4 billion, of which USD 3.4 billion will be taken care of by Russian state credits.

Citing lessons learnt from 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, Rogozin said Russian reactors provided to India were "state-of-the-art" and there need be no fears over it.

Noting that Sistema's project in India is "big" involving USD 3 billion, some part of which is state money, Rogozin said it is not possible to renew the terms when the contract is concluded. "The Sistema contract was concluded based on Indian laws," he said.

He said the problems in Sistema's investments in India will have "great repercussion" for future cooperation not only for Russian partners but also for foreign investments to this country. PTI AKJ SC GSN GSN 10142036 NNNN

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 15 Oct 2012 21:12

^^^^
There is nothing new here and has been pointed out many times before.
Nuclear energy requires an insurance exemption to remain viable. Around the world the cost of insuring the technology is what has crippled it. Private companies who do this for a living will not touch it. For that matter GOI too is reluctant to

This is completely contrary to all other fields. It like a doctor who uses a faulty device taking on the full liability of killing a patient or a engineer who puts a stamp on a beam then transferring liability to the Facility operator, who knows nothing about the beam or even engineering for that matter. This is what has caused so much confusion in Nuclear design, the operators, who are not engineers, then take life safety liability for something they do not understand.

It is a valid point that coal and cities don't fully pay for their pollution. This is why GOI/World is gradually pushing for a CO2 tax and the pressure on cities to clean up is relentless. The problem of course is the Nuclear wants a one time permanent exemption which is definitely not the same thing at all.

We are finding great difficulty in moving ahead with Indian designed and built projects due to some of the provisions of the 2010 legislation. We must arrive at a solution whereby electric power generation growth is assisted to the maximum extent possible, while ensuring that the safety of the people is in no way adversely impacted. With regards to Kudankulam 1 and 2, the delay of one year has already pushed up the tariff from Rs. 3 per KWH to Rs 3.25 per KWH. Any further delay will similarly increase the cost of power to the consumers.

Suppiah · Post by **Suppiah** » 15 Oct 2012 21:36

SSridhar wrote:A Liability for our Nuclear Plans - Dr. MR Srinivasan in The Hindu
A must read.

Isn't he the anti-establishment guy? Or have I gotten names wrong?

Department of Atomic Energy has tried to inject realism by defining the duration of the risk to be the product liability period or five years, whichever is less, and a cap on the risk being the value of the contract. We find that long-standing suppliers of DAE and NPCIL are unhappy to go along even with these caps,

Anyway the article is sensible. What I dont understand is don't such laws exist for other non-nuclear products? I mean if they supply a boiler to a thermal plant that explodes due to bad design, fabrication or components used, isn't there liability?

Katare · Post by **Katare** » 17 Oct 2012 02:09

Abstract:
Natural Resource Limitations to Terawatt-Scale Solar Cells Installations

Meng Tao
School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Laboratory for Terawatt
Photovoltaics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-5706, USA

The predicted energy demands will reach 28 terawatts by 2050 and 46 terawatts by 2100.
The deployment of photovoltaic solar cells will have to expand to a scale of tens of peak
terawatts in order to meet a noticeable portion of these demands, which requires
enormous amounts of natural resources. Of the current commercial and developmental
solar cell technologies, the majority suffer from natural resource limitations that prevent
them from reaching terawatt scales. These limitations include high energy input for
crystalline-Si cells and material scarcity for CdTe, CIGS, dye-sensitized, crystalline-Si,
and amorphous-Si cells. In this talk, we will quantitatively examine these resource
limitations under the best scenarios, i.e. the maximum possible power from each of these
solar cell technologies. Without significant technological breakthroughs, these
technologies combined would meet only 1–2% of our energy demands in 2100. The
production rates of raw materials also limit the deployment rates of GaAs, CdTe, CIGS,
dye-sensitized, crystalline-Si, and amorphous-Si cells. We will examine the maximum
possible annual production for each of these solar cell technologies with the current
production rates of the raw materials. Without significant increase in material production,
the production of these technologies combined would plateau at only 100–200 peak
gigawatts per year.

nakul · Post by **nakul** » 17 Oct 2012 21:26

Gilani err.. Gillard is in India for peaceful nuke cooperation onlee. Obama must have guboed him/her to talk about strat-e-gic ~~copulation~~ co operation

India, Australia decide to launch negotiations for nuclear pact

India and Australia on Wednesday decided to launch negotiations for civil nuclear pact during the talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard.

The two leaders also agreed to hold annual meetings at the summit level to launch a Ministerial-level Dialogue on Energy Security, start negotiations for an Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, apart from inking four pacts.

The two Prime Ministers held "substantive discussions on measures to give greater content" to bilateral relations, after which Singh said "relations between India and Australia are characterised by expanding trade and investment, defence cooperation, education and cultural linkages and people-to-people interaction".

nakul · Post by **nakul** » 19 Oct 2012 13:21

Centre justifies waiver of nuclear civil liability pact with Russia

Mr. Nariman said: “It was a major policy decision by the Government of India considering the prevailing circumstances at the time. It is stated that after the 1974 peaceful nuclear experiment at Pokhran, India was placed under international sanctions for all nuclear-related supplies. We continued our indigenous efforts in developing nuclear energy, however, we were subjected to an international technology denial regime. Under these circumstances, it was the erstwhile USSR, which had come forward and had offered to supply large capacity VVER 1000 MWe to India. This was a huge step in sustaining our civilian nuclear capabilities.”

Will this be extended to other countries as some reports implied in the past?

alexis · Post by **alexis** » 19 Oct 2012 18:09

Anyway the article is sensible. What I dont understand is don't such laws exist for other non-nuclear products? I mean if they supply a boiler to a thermal plant that explodes due to bad design, fabrication or components used, isn't there liability?

The liability is limited to the warranty period and usually limited to 10-15% of total EPC contract cost in case of thermal projects.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 20 Oct 2012 03:54

Sonia Gandhi was initially against nuclear deal, says book.

The ambiguity in Congress's reaction to the Indo-US nuclear deal in the initial days has always been a subject of various interpretations.

But a new book says Sonia Gandhi was entirely opposed to the deal initially and even "reprimanded" the government for signing the July 18, The book, Congress after Indira, by JNU political scientist Zoya Hasan is being published by Oxford University Press and slated for release later this month.

"She reprimanded me for signing the Indo-US joint statement. No sooner had the Indian delegation returned after signing the joint statement she called me over and upbraided me by saying, 'Natwar, what have you gone and done. This deal is not acceptable to most Indians," then external affairs minister Natwar Singh is quoted in the book as telling the author.

Natwar Singh was with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington when the joint statement was signed.Natwar Singh, however, chose not to join the issue on Friday when HT spoke to him. "I will speak on it later," he said.

Sonia Gandhi's concerns about the deal had been subject of open debate to only a limited extent.

The book recalls Gandhi's statement at the HT leadership summit in October 2007 where she said the Left's opposition to the nuclear deal "was not unreasonable."

"She did not throw her weight behind the deal until late 2007," says the book, adding that it takes some amount of persuasion by the Prime Minister's foreign policy team.

The book says Natwar Singh was among those Congress leaders who were critical of the strategic embrace with the US, but a previous account of Condoleezza Rice, who was US secretary of states in 2005, had given full credit to him for pushing the deal.

"Natwar was adamant. He wanted the deal, but the Prime Minister wasn't sure he could sell it in New Delhi," said Rice in her 2011 book, No Higher Honor.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 20 Oct 2012 06:30

Suppiah wrote:In addition to engaging in contract killing and preparing mafiosi style hit list of political rivals to be eliminated, comrade Beijing puppets of Kerala block important national projects ...

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 976037.ece

Unless I missed something, where is the obstruction that you allege? It is more indicative of illiteracy in matters of science on part of Achu, with a heightened sense, misplaced as it is, of feared snooping by big brother USA.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 20 Oct 2012 22:16

Apologies of posted already...

Maoists and Anti-KK stir

http://www.signalfire.org/?p=21594

KLP Dubey · Post by **KLP Dubey** » 21 Oct 2012 08:18

India gets ready for Kodak moment at Kudankulam nuclear power plant

Protesters or not, it seems KNPP is going critical in 10 days.

I saw photos of "protesters" walking into the sea near the plant for some reason. Next time they should be told to "keep walking".

KL

KLP Dubey · Post by **KLP Dubey** » 21 Oct 2012 08:42

What's Going On At Vogtle Units 3 and 4 Now

New US nuclear power plant construction in full swing.

More from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogtle_Ele ... ts_3_and_4

One week after Southern received the license to begin major construction on the two new reactors, a dozen environmental and anti-nuclear groups sued to stop the Plant Vogtle expansion project, saying "public safety and environmental problems since Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor accident have not been taken into account".[24] On July 11, 2012, the lawsuit was rejected by the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.[25]

It seems neither courts in USA nor in India are in any mood to take these rabble-rousers and anti-nationals seriously.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/busin ... 1342114200

The motion to halt construction was filed by five groups, including Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, seeking a “housekeeping stay” to allow more time to review the NRC’s decision to license the $14 billion Vogtle expansion.

I have already commented on enviro-goons and fanatical tree-huggers such as the "Southern Alliance for Clean Energy". These rednecks probably could use a dose of "radiation therapy" anyway, to cure the genetic defects caused by inbreeding.

KL

KLP Dubey · Post by **KLP Dubey** » 21 Oct 2012 08:51

While the public is fed conventional "wisdom", the West moves ahead with new technologies for extracting uranium from seawater:

From C&E News:http://cen.acs.org/magazine/90/09036.html

Science & Technology

Extracting Uranium From Seawater

ACS Meeting News: Massive marine supply of metal drives researchers to design selective, durable sorbents

Subscription needed, but feel free to contact me if you want the article for "educational purposes only".

KL

member_20292 · Post by **member_20292** » 21 Oct 2012 16:48

klp dubey ji, please email me the ace paper on uranium from seawater at

rwnano at gee mail dawt qaum

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 23 Oct 2012 00:04

http://blogs.wsj.com/canadarealtime/201 ... um-mining/
Deal Journal Australia: Aussi is Khassi: Queensland Opens Door for Uranium Mining

fter years of staunchly opposing uranium mining, Queensland state has had a sudden change of heart. The state government says it plans to restart an industry that’s been dormant since 1982 so it can unlock deposits of the nuclear fuel worth 10 billion Australian Dollars . To an outsider, the timing of the Queensland government’s move might seem odd. A rethink on nuclear power is underway in many countries following the Fukushima Daiichi atomic crisis in Japan last year, and prices of uranium remain stuck in the doldrums near US$47 a pound.But the door to shipping uranium from Australia to India has just opened a little wider and Queensland faced missing out on a multi-billion dollar windfall that will flow to neighboring states if it sat on its hands any longer. Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh last week agreed to start talks on cooperation in nuclear energy for civil uses, paving the way for the uranium trade to begin in future.According to Morgan Stanley, the global uranium market will be in deficit from 2014 with demand outstripping supply by 6,850 tons by the end of the decade, even though Japan is likely to move away from nuclear power in the long term, and China is set to miss by 25% its original target of having 80 gigawatts of new nuclear power generating capacity in operation by 2020.

nakul · Post by **nakul** » 23 Oct 2012 00:09

India, Russia postpone meet by two months to resolve issues

India and Russia have put off their high-level engagement planned for November 1 by almost two months in order to reach an agreement on some contentious military and civil issues.

The announcement about the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin was first made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) here in a statement and later by the Russian government.

While the MEA indirectly hinted at the stalemate or lack of clarity over some mega projects, the Russian side was more forthright about the reason behind the postponement.

“All details of the bilateral agenda must be finalised by that time [December 24], so that the visit gets maximum substance,” Mr. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said while announcing the new dates.

India and Russia are yet to break the impasse over liability provisions for units three and four of the Kudankulam power project and are locked in a row over the revoked 2G spectrum licences, which hit Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited, a subsidiary of Russia’s AFK Sistema group. Russia is also still to say how much time it will need to eliminate major deficiencies that emerged during the recent sea trials of INS Vikramaditya.

Seems like Putin wants to celebrate christmas in India.

nakul · Post by **nakul** » 23 Oct 2012 20:13

If Russian pressure forces India to build more power plants, I'm all for it

India, Russia finding new N-plant site after West Bengal's refusal

With West Bengal government deciding to scrap the proposal for a nuclear power plant at Haripur, India and Russia are working to find out an alternative site for the Russian facility.

"I don't know whether abandon is the right word. We have been in consultation with our Russian friends on this and there are some technical issues that have come to the fore and we are working with them on finding another site," official spokesperson in Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said here today.

Designated by the Centre for setting up of one of the Russian power plants, the coastal village witnessed agitation from locals against the project.

Asked about upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir V Putin and if the scheduling was done due to differences between the two countries on crucial issues of Kudankulam nuclear plant and Russian investments in Sistema, Akbaruddin said it was not due to these reasons.

He also noted that in past also the Russian Presidents have preferred December to visit the country and said "after year 2000, all visits by Russian Presidents for bilateral Summit have been in December".

"The dates are peripheral to the substance in the relations...peripheral issues are nice parlour games but we have moved beyond that," he said.

nakul · Post by **nakul** » 25 Oct 2012 01:05

In the future, N-plants will find themselves in cities: Expert

Nuclear plants could find themselves even in central parts of cities in the future, thanks to scientific and technological improvements in reactor design. “The design of the 300-MW advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) would be such that even in the worst of the accidents, there would be no long-term impact on the people near the plant,” SA Bhardwaj, director (Technical), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), said. Once this is done, nuclear plants can be constructed anywhere — even in the heart of densely populated cities, he added.

The technology, however, would first have to be tested and proved, Bhardwaj said. “We are planning to take up construction of such plants in the 12th Plan. This could be at an existing site, such as the area adjacent to the nuclear power plants in Tarapur.”

Anyone knows more about this? I always wondered the possibility of underground nuclear reactors based on submarine designs.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 25 Oct 2012 05:53

The west coast of India is a perfect place with a long mountain chain cover all along the coast for siting underground reactors, and close enough to population centers. The local geology might even make it easier to drill through to create caverns.

prashanth · Post by **prashanth** » 02 Nov 2012 14:54

Meanwhile...

Noam Chomsky expresses solidarity with Kudankulam protesters

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 02 Nov 2012 18:13

prashanth wrote:Meanwhile...

Noam Chomsky expresses solidarity with Kudankulam protesters

Has this chap ever protested against nuclear power plants in USA? Otherwise this would look no better than some nomadic or tribal rumble to deny others advantages of nuclear power. On the other hand is it not better that Americans protest nuclear power plant companies within USA first?

Indians should be quite careful in dealing with such double dealing protesters who are silent on one hand about nuclear scenario within the West and feign solidarity for protests outside.

In fact Indian establishment should be careful about confusing signals coming from the west in view of any nuclear plants from western companies coming up at particular locations in India.

To avoid a scenario of halt of work at any western nuclear plant, Indians could put forth competing power agreements with standards, such as 1000MW/2000MW units of power plants connected to power grids - at different locations within same region selected - by competing vendors from western, Russian companies etc. Obviously there could be some additional capacities in built in case a western company has to face protests as above or for example funded by western countries.

This will ensure that not all power projects are stuck at locations which are precisely selected for huge power projects. Competition will ensure better quality as well along with consistent and reliable power in grids as per requirements. What is more important than competition in post-modern world afterall?

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 02 Nov 2012 18:20

vishvak wrote:
prashanth wrote:Meanwhile...

Noam Chomsky expresses solidarity with Kudankulam protesters
Has this chap ever protested against nuclear power plants in USA?

Yes he is a general lefty, he regularly protests anywhere and everywhere. Cholbe na.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 04 Nov 2012 10:50

2 Kudankulam anti-nuke protesters arrested under Goondas Act

Two of the 26 persons arrested following the anti-nuke protesters’ attempt to lay siege to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project site have been detained under the provisions of Goondas Act.

They are lodged at the Vellore Central Prison

The order was served on A. Nazaren (40) of Tsunami Colony, Idinthakarai, and S. Lourdusamy at the prison on Saturday.

An official statement from the District Police Office stated that the duo, demanding closure of the KKNPP, threatened and detained the employees of the nuclear reactors and other government staff to prevent them from discharging their duties. They also attacked them with lethal weapons causing injuries.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Valliyoor, N.K. Stanley Jones, said that the duo played an active role in laying siege to the KKNPP site when the four-member State Expert Panel visited the project site on February 17.

Chennai High Court slams Anti-Kudankulam agitators for protests

The Madras High Court Bench here on Friday criticised anti-nuclear agitators at Idinthakarai and Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district for continuing their protests, which turned violent on September 10, regardless of the fact that the Supreme Court was seized of the matter following a judgement passed by the Principal Seat of the High Court on August 31 in favour of the nuclear power plant.

A Division Bench comprising Justice K. Suguna and Justice R. Mala expressed its displeasure over continuing protests while dismissing a couple of public interest litigation petitions filed by A. Marx, State convenor, People’s Union for Human Rights, and Human Rights Protection Centre, represented by its deputy secretary S. Vanchinathan, seeking a judicial enquiry into the September 10 violence.

Disagreeing with the submission made by counsel for one of the petitioners that only the people and not the courts could decide the merits and demerits of an issue such as establishment of a nuclear power plant, the judges said they were unable to accept such an argument that sought to justify “mob activities”, as it will lead to “disastrous results.”

Writing the judgement, Ms. Justice Suguna said: “We are in total disagreement with the answer given by the learned counsel for the petitioner. If such a stand is to be accepted, we are unable to understand why Courts are; and what is the purpose of courts passing orders. This stand of the learned counsel for the petitioner reveals whatever be the orders of the court, people can take the law in their own hands and achieve their goal by following any method.”

Further, pointing out that the agitators had ignored prohibitory orders under Section 144 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and marched towards the nuclear power plant on September 10 when it faced the threat of being damaged, the judges wondered: “If this is not said to be a criminal act, we are unable to understand what other act can be termed as criminal act.”

“The democratic form of government itself demands its citizens (have) an active and intelligent participation in the affairs of the State. The public discussion with people's participation is a basic feature and a rational process of democracy which distinguishes it from all other forms of government. However that does not mean, as done in the case in hand, people can take the issue in their own hands and they can deal (with) it as they feel like.”

“That would be destruction of the rule of law, which forms one of the essential elements of public interest in any democratic form of government.” They also said that the petitioners had not come out with details of the agitators who were injured during the violence. No reason was given for not lodging a complaint with any of the authorities in connection with the incident, though a majority of the population in the two villages was educated. On the other hand, the police had alleged that it was they who were attacked by the agitators on the day of violence.

kish · Post by **kish** » 06 Nov 2012 21:58

Canada to allow civil nuclear trade with India, no timeline

India aims to lift its nuclear capacity to 63,000 MW in the next 20 years by adding nearly 30 reactors. The country currently operates 20 mostly small reactors at six sites with a capacity of 4,780 MW, or 2% of its total power capacity, according to the Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd.

It was not immediately clear what safeguards there would be to ensure that Canadian material does get used again for making nuclear bombs, an issue that had been a key obstacle to the agreement.
Canada’s ambassador to India, Stewart Beck, said on Monday that his country wanted to be able to track all nuclear material, but that India felt it only needed to report to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

What is the need to track 'all nuclear matierial'?

So far the negotiators have done a good job, India doesn't need a nuclear deal with strings attached.

Meanwhile the 'Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd' website is down.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 06 Nov 2012 22:36

Due to power cut?

kish · Post by **kish** » 06 Nov 2012 22:51

ramana wrote:Due to power cut?

I found out a plausible reason for it Ramanaji. There is a NPCIL Recruitment going on for 2012.

RamaY · Post by **RamaY** » 07 Nov 2012 20:30

India and Canada finalise conditions of nuclear deal

This news item doesnt even give the gist of the conditions/agreements

It is planning to set up some 30 reactors over as many years and get a quarter of its electricity from nuclear energy by 2050.

As a result it has been looking to secure supplies of uranium to achieve that target.

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that being able to be a part of India's nuclear power plans was "a really important economic opportunity for an important Canadian industry... that should pay dividends in terms of jobs and growth for Canadians down the road".

Earlier this month, India agreed to begin negotiations on a civil nuclear co-operation agreement with Australia, which holds an estimated 40% of the world's uranium.

Last year, it agreed a deal that will allow South Korea to export its nuclear energy technology to India.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 13 Nov 2012 13:28

Work begins on metallic fuel reactor (MFTR) at Kalpakkam

nitial steps for the construction of another fast-breeder test reactor powered by metallic fuel at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) complex at Kalpakkam has begun, a senior official said on Monday. "The government had initially sanctioned Rs 25 crore for the 120 MW metallic fuel test reactor (MFTR). Around Rs.6 crore is expected to be spent by the end of this fiscal on geo-technical investigations for the proposed project," an official not wanting to be named told IANS.

The proposed MFTR will be the third reactor for IGCAR which already has a 14 MW fast breeder test reactor (FBTR) and a mini Kamini (Kalpakkam mini reactor). It will be the seventh reactor as a whole for the Kalpakkam nuclear complex, around 70 km from here. Two pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) of 220 MW capacity of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) belonging to Nuclear Power Corporation India Ltd (NPCIL) are already functioning.

The 500 MW IGCAR designed prototype fast-breeder test reactor (PFBR) is being built by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (Bhavini). A small light water reactor belonging to Bhabha Atomic Energy Centre (BARC) is also operational at the Kalpakkam nuclear complex. With Bhavini planning to build two more 500 MW fast reactors sometime in the future, Kalpakkam nuclear complex will become one of the world's noted "island" of fast reactors, housing five units. A fast-breeder reactor is one which breeds more material for a nuclear fission reaction than it consumes. It is the key to India's three-stage nuclear power programme.

According to the IGCAR official, the MFTR construction is expected to begin in a couple of years. The official added that additional manpower would not be required for MFTR as the existing resources would be sufficient. The MFTR will be the test bed for designing a 1,000 MW fast reactor to be powered by metallic fuel, a mix of 20 percent plutonium and 80 percent uranium. The metallic fuel has better breeding ratio as compared to the mixed plutonium-uranium oxide (MOX) fuel that would power PFBR and the two 500 MW fast reactors at Bhavini.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 14 Nov 2012 04:39

Any news when the PFBR goes critical?

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 14 Nov 2012 19:40

ramana wrote:Due to power cut?

Only 2 out of 18 ice making factories are operational at present severely restricting the capacity of the "patriotic fishermen" to go out and fish.

Money must really be tight for the poor blighters.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Nov 2012 09:00

Goondas act clamped on two more anti KKNP protestors

Better late than never.

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 16 Nov 2012 20:25

[quote=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 974346.cms]Rural TN experiences 12 hours power cut . [/quote]

May I please request the PMANE group to voluntarily disconnect from the grid if they do not want the power the plant.

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 18 Nov 2012 09:49

Kudankulam to go live during Putin trip

NEW DELHI: After the setback over Russian President Vladimir Putin's abrupt decision to postpone his India visit, the two countries are looking to undo some of the recent strife by commissioning the first Kudankulam reactor during his visit in late December.

While foreign ministry officials confirmed that India was looking at commissioning of the reactor either in December or early next year, diplomatic sources said that the possibility of commissioning while Putin is in India cannot be excluded as this will have an immense "symbolic value'' for relations. However, they ruled out Putin's visit to Kudankulam.

Sources, however, said that there is still no progress in attempts by both sides to settle the issue of Kudankulam 3 and 4, which India wants to bring under the purview of its nuclear liability law. The two sides are discussing the likely hike in the cost of these two reactors following India's decision. Along with the cancellation of Sistema's licences for CDMA services by the Supreme Court, this was one of the reasons which forced Putin to defer his summit meet with Singh. The fact that the fresh 2G auctions have not yielded a substantial amount, according to Russian officials, has vindicated Sistema that did not participate in the auction. "Sistema has been proved correct by the fresh auction and we hope that India will approach Sistema's case in a more liberal manner,'' said Russian senior counselor Sergey Karmalito.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 24 Nov 2012 11:19

Anti-nuke activist held under goondas act - The Hindu

Brando · Post by **Brando** » 24 Nov 2012 23:39

IAEA:Indian Nuclear reactors can withstand Fukushima type incident

In your face PMANE!

vishvak · Post by **vishvak** » 26 Nov 2012 16:02

From Korea’s Ambassador Joon-gyu Lee speaks

Amitabh Sinha: One of the most important points in the joint statement that came out of the Indian PM’s visit to South Korea earlier this year, was cooperation in nuclear technology and an invitation to set up more nuclear power plants in India. There have been protests in Kudankulam against the nuclear power plants and in Maharashtra and Haryana. What is South Korea’s view on the protests against nuclear power plants?

If, without constructing nuclear plants, you can provide people with good power supply, you should do so. In South Korea, we do not have an alternative. I think India has the same problem. The protests don’t mean much by themselves. In South Korea, there are many NGOs that continuously protest against nuclear power plants. The people are accustomed to it and we do not take it too seriously. We are ready to cooperate in this field with India, but we are still waiting for India’s decision to proceed in that direction. Korea has developed its own technology, we have our own model of nuclear power plants based on sophisticated technology. India has its own technology. There is room for Korea and India to cooperate in this field.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 26 Nov 2012 16:23

Yes Brando.Vishvak,these quislings and their puppet masters are deliberately trying to sabotage the Indo-Russian nuclear cooperation and have made KKM their target,spending hundreds of millions as the IB discovered.Such protests are going to be the norm from now on,funded by firang intel outfits and N-suppliers and carried out on the ground by anti-national NGOs and so-called (hired) activists.Whichever GOI is in power,there can be no roll-back on N-power for India,foreign and desi reactor designs should side-by-side be constructed along apace with the max. safeguards that can be conceived of.All other forms of power generation cannot deliver a constant clean supply as N-power can.True their are risks involved but we have to plan safeguards for the worst eventuality and educate and involve the locals where such plants are being planned for,showing them the vast benefits of N-power..

Hari Seldon · Post by **Hari Seldon** » 26 Nov 2012 18:37

Norway ringing in thorium nuclear New Year with Westinghouse at the party

Maybe this is just the fillip the desi thorium industry needs to also go full throttle on Th designs?

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 26 Nov 2012 20:30

Hai Allah. India needing nuke tech from Korea.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 26 Nov 2012 23:56

sanjaykumar wrote:Hai Allah. India needing nuke tech from Korea.

They can supply what Japaneese cant. Check this out ... SOKO has huge, much advanced Nuke Industry.

South Korea awarded UAE nuclear power contract
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8431904.stm