The Hindu Business Line : BHEL in talks for nuclear tie-up

Power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) is in talks with global nuclear players, including Alstom, GE Energy and Siemens, for possible tie-ups to enhance its nuclear capabilities.

The State-owned BHEL, which already supplies equipment to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) projects, is exploring the possibilities of a technical tie-up for high-end nuclear equipment, a Government official involved in the exercise said. BHEL has also initiated talks with a Russian firm, officials said.

"Talks have been on with four leading global nuclear equipment suppliers and a tie-up with one of these players could be on the cards. The tie-up with a foreign partner would mainly be for manufacturing equipment of 700 MW and 1000 MW capacities. BHEL has the capacity to manufacture equipment of up to 500 MW units," the official said.

Bullish on prospects

According to officials, the company is extremely bullish on the prospects of the nuclear equipment supplies business taking off following the recent deal with the US and with the possibility of private players entering the sector. BHEL has already begun an enhancement of some of its existing manufacturing facilities in Haridwar and Bhopal for gearing up to participate in the process of developing nuclear projects.

GE Nuclear Energy, a division of GE Energy, develops advanced light water reactors and its product portfolio includes steam turbines designed for nuclear applications, new and refurbished parts, plant performance software, and instrumentation such as in-core and ex-core sensors, gamma thermometers and radiation monitors.

Alstom makes turbines for nuclear power stations and has supplied steam turbines to over 30 per cent of all the nuclear power stations in the world, while Siemens is also a major equipment supplier to nuclear stations.

Currently, NPCIL is the only nuclear power generator in the country.

The demand for nuclear equipment is poised to rise in a big way with the Government likely to open up the sector for players other than NPCIL, including private sector participation expected in the short to medium term.

Various power generation companies, including NTPC, Tata Power and Reliance Energy, have already evinced interest in venturing into nuclear power.

Capacity addition

Coming in the wake of the new Indo-US civil nuclear deal, NPCIL estimates the country could add 20,000-40,000 MW of nuclear power generation capacity over the next 10 years or so if several more players, including private sector companies, enter the sector.

The country's nuclear power generation capacity, currently pegged at 3,310 MW, forms less than 3 per cent of the country's total installed generation capacity of about 1,20,000 MW.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
`Chennai most attractive city for offshoring services'

BHEL in talks for nuclear tie-up

CDAC working on new supercomputer

Rights issues: Disclosure norms eased

No more unsolicited calls from banks