Has Punjab lost its case for the nuclear power plant?

In a major shift in its policy on setting up a nuclear power plant in the state, Punjab will now lobby with the Centre to give it a Light Water Reactor (LWR)-based nuclear power plant.

To run on imported fuel; IAEA safeguard nod soon.

Anil Sasi

New Delhi, Oct. 13 After being held up for well over two years due to fuel shortages, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) expects to get the two new units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) up and running by January.

ENGINEERING and construction company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is eyeing big bucks from the nuclear power business with annual revenue projections of Rs 7,000-8,000 crore once India launches its ambitious nuclear power capacity addition programme.

China may have to put the brakes on the construction of nuclear power plants to ensure the plants are safe, the country's top energy planning official told reporters on Sunday.

Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, warned of signs of "improper" and "too fast" development of nuclear power in some regions.

Venezuela has yet to develop a plan to explore or exploit its uranium deposits despite comments by a government official saying it was working with Iran to locate them, Venezuela's energy minister told Reuters.

On Friday, Mining Minister Rodolfo Sanz said Iran and Venezuela were working together to find uranium, and preliminary tests showed the South American country holds large deposits.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco), a leading producer of aluminium in the country, intends to enter the energy sector as an independent power producer.

The company is exploring thermal, hydro and nuclear route to achieve this ambition.

The federal government has decided to establish the National Safety Analysis Centre (NSAC) to provide technical support to the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) to ensure the safety of Chashma-3 and Chashma-4 nuclear power projects.

First it was Kazakhstan, then Namibia and now Mongolia. In its quest for obtaining fuel for its nuclear power plants, India has been reaching out to every possible country that has some uranium resources and is willing to sell it to New Delhi.

Energy-starved India, armed with permission to buy atomic fuel from around the world after the end of a three-decade ban, is courting new partners alongside old friends in its global hunt for uranium.