Modi, Putin discuss second nuclear power plant in India with Russian reactors

NEW new delhi: Cooperation on little modular reactors and the selection of a land site for edifice a endorse nuclear power plant with Russian reactors figured in the India-Russia Summit on Friday, with the two sides holding extensive discussions on bolstering cooperation in the field as part of New Delhi’s efforts to ramp up the generation of clean energy.Energy security is a “strong and vital pillar” of the India-Russia partnership and the decades-old cooperation in civil nuclear energy has played an important role in advancing the shared clean energy priorities of the two countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a joint media interaction following his talks with President Vladimir Putin.Also Read: Putin, Modi focus on expanding India-Russia trade ties, firm up 5-year roadmap“We will continue to take this win-win cooperation forward,” he said, speaking in Hindi, even as both sides emphasised the implementation of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, which is being built with the assistance of Rosatom. Russia’s state-run nuclear corporation is supplying six VVER-1000 reactors for the plant which will have a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW.“Getting this nuclear power plant to full power output will make an impressive contribution to the energy requirements of India. It will help supply Indian enterprises and houses with cheap and clean energy,” Putin said, noting that two reactors had already been connected to the energy grid.“We presume that we could talk about the construction of small modular reactors and floating nuclear power plants and non-energy application of nuclear technologies, for example in medicine or agriculture,” Putin said.People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the issue of small modular reactors had figured during the discussions at the summit on civil nuclear cooperation. Russian officials had said ahead of the summit that the Rosatom chief would make an offer for cooperation in building small modular reactors, for which India has launched its own programme of design and development.A joint statement issued after the summit said the two sides “confirmed their intention to broaden cooperation in nuclear energy, including fuel cycle, life cycle support for operating Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) and non-power applications”. They will also draw up a new agenda for cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy and related high technologies. Cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy is significant for India’s plans to increase nuclear energy capacity to 100 GW by 2047.The joint statement said the two sides “noted the importance of further discussion on the second site in India” for a nuclear power plant, and that the Indian side “will strive to finalise formal allotment of the second site in accordance with earlier signed agreements”.Foreign secretary Vikram Misri told a media briefing that a number of critical shipments for the third and fourth reactors at Kudankulam are underway, and work is being done to conclude agreements for supplies for the fifth and sixth reactors.“When it comes to the second site [for a nuclear power plant], this is an issue that has been under discussion between the two countries for some time now,” he said. The selection of a site is a complicated exercise and must take into account environmental factors. “These are all under consideration of the concerned authorities in the Department of Atomic Energy,” he said.The two sides also agreed to accelerate technical and commercial discussions on the VVER reactors of Russian design, and localisation and joint manufacturing of nuclear equipment and fuel assemblies for Russian-designed large capacity power plants.