Even as the Government is working overtime to calm the simmering public dissent against the proposed 10,000 MW nuclear plant at Jaitapur, the French authorities, which have offered 2 X 1,750 MW reactors in the first phase, is awaiting the Indian parliamentary nod for the liability rules to read the fine print, before inking the contract.
Dr Bernard Bigot, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission, France, said it is important that there is a clear legal framework in the country where one expects to build their reactors. “We understand that the liability is on the shoulders of the operators. It is also clear that the operators can take recourse to suppliers. We cannot comment till your Parliament passes it.”
Stress tests
Dr Bigot said post-Fukushima, stress tests were performed on 58 reactors in France, which supply about 63,000 billion units and account for 80 per cent of the electricity produced in the country.
On November 10, the committee after analysing the complementary evaluation of all the plants said Areva's EPR (European pressurised reactor) has been built with the experience of previous reactors and is well suited to face extreme conditions. There was no single change in the design or key parts and fulfilled their expectations. The final report is expected in January and would be fully shared with the Indian authorities.
As of now, four EPR reactors are under construction, one each in Finland and France, besides two in China. The French nuclear reactor manufacturer Areva, in which the French Government is majority shareholder, has offered the EPR reactors to India.
Reactor safety
Dr Bigot said basically the core of the EPR reactor is the same as the other reactors operating in France. Reactor safety centred round two issues – design and operation and process. The nuclear regulators of France, the UK and Finland, who raised questions on common control of the process – numerical and analytical – were now satisfied that the EPR conforms to the highest safety norms in terms of process control.
Trouble in Finland
Asked on the prolonged delay in the Finnish project, where the project cost had doubled and both the buyer and contractor had gone in for arbitration, he said it should be understood that it was a turnkey project. Areva's Finnish project has suffered 100 per cent cost over-run of €2.7 billion and the timeline of 2005-09 being extended to 2013. The original cost was pegged at €3 billion.
Dr Bigot said nuclear power plants involve over 20,000 different pieces of contract between buyer and suppliers. It was initially expected that any piece would be validated or rejected in two months, but it took over 11 months. This is besides the technical aspects. The doubling of cost includes provision of dispute. As of now, lawyers from both sides were speaking to each other and an interim decision was expected in January.
Dr Bigot said nuclear reactors require large investments and should last long. It takes 10 years for construction, 50-60 years of operation and 30-40 years for de-commissioning and the supplier has to guarantee the best.