Niti Aayog Needs To Take Note

Niti Aayog which is the Indian central government think tank in charge of framing the country policies and development targets recently put out a statement pushing for an increase in the country nuclear power capacity, even as this technology has become obsolete and also has massively high tail risks.

The case of two recent nuclear power plants in the U.S. being constructed by Westinghouse shows the futility and uselessness of promoting nuclear power in the age when the wind and solar energy can be produced at 4-5 cents per unit.  Nuclear power plants are massively complex projects that are prone to large amounts of time and cost overruns. Westinghouse’s two plants in the U.S. (the one in Georgia and another one in South Carolina) have led to an estimated $13 billion in cost overruns and are left in doubt. This has led to the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and also made the future of its parent Toshiba doubtful.

Also, read India’s Planning Commission Goes Batty – Wants To Promote Nuclear Power

In the last couple of years, another nuclear reactor equipment maker Areva went bankrupt as its Finland nuclear power plant saw huge cost overruns. These companies went kaput as they misjudged the regulatory hurdles, the rigor, and demands of nuclear work.

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After Fukushima the cost of compliance with safety for new nuclear power plants have become prohibitive and has thus dramatically increased the cost of the nuclear power generated electricity. This is leading to massive problems. Southern Co., which owns nearly half the Georgia project, and SCANA Corp., which owns a majority of the South Carolina project, have said they are evaluating the plants and could abandon the reactors altogether.

These companies are facing extremely troubled times which they are unlikely to escape. Westinghouse began to grasp the scope of its dilemma, according to a document filed in its bankruptcy: Finishing the two projects would require Westinghouse to spend billions of dollars on labor, abandoning them would mean billions in penalties.