Nuclear power almost nuked

New Delhi: Power minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that government is cautious about not being saddled with technology discarded by the West in the name of nuclear energy.

He pointed out that the United States and many European nations have discontinued setting up of nuclear plants.

The minister also said that India needs to invest $250 billion over the next five years to tackle power shortages and provide power to all.

“Nuclear has potenti-al and has opportunities for India. This government is considering all options. In nuclear, we are seized of the problem and we are already trying to see how we can address the nuclear liability restrictions,” said the minister.

He said there is no estimate yet on the life-cycle costs of nuclear power right till the de-commissioning stage.

“"This government would like to be cautio-us that we are not being saddled with something which the West has discarded and is sought to be brought to India un-der the garb of clean energy or alternate energy,” said  Mr Goyal adding, “I hear that US and Europe are also not developing new nuclear power plants”.

Mr Goyal said the bulk of the investment would need to come from the private sector but the government would also invest more.

“I visualise an investment of nearly $250 billion in power in the next four or five years,” he said and added that the government is targeting $100 billion of investment in renewables and $50 billion in transmission and distribution to create a national grid where power can flow seamlessly.

To meet the increasing electricity generation requirements, Mr Goyal said, Coal India is expected to double its production to around one billion tonnes by 2019.  “There are several unresolved issues in the power sector which need to be addressed and these are required to start with what is a desirable mix of nuc-lear, thermal and other sources,” said Harish H .V, partner, Grant Thornton India.