Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

NUCLEAR POWER PROJECTProject description

BRIEF ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project is a proposed 9900 MW power project of Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) at Madban village of Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra.

• If built, it would be the largest nuclear power generating station in the world by net electrical power rating.

• On December 6, 2010 an agreement was signed for the supply of nuclear fuel for 25 years in the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

• French nuclear engineering firm Areva S.A. and Indian state-owned nuclear operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India signed this multi billion valued agreement of about $9.3 billion.

• It is proposed to construct 6 European Pressurized Reactors designed and developed by Areva of France, each of 1650 megawatts, thus totaling 9900 megawatts.

• These are the third generation pressurized water reactors (PWR).

• Estimated cost of this project is around 100,000 crore (US$18.2 billion).

• This type of reactor is not currently operational anywhere in the world.

• Though the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission had expressed concerns about the safety of the computer system in this reactor, but Finland has ordered one such reactor nonetheless.

• The cost of building the plant is about Rs 20 crore/MWe capacity compared with Rs 5 crore/MWe for a coal power station.

• The cost of electricity from this power plant will be below Rs.4 (US$0.07) per Kilowatt hour.

BRIEF ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOCATIONNuclear Project

• The proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project is located at the west coast with an average elevation of 90 feet (27 m).

• This project will spread over 968 hectares of land.

• Jaitapur is on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri district in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India.

• The district is a part of Konkan in Western Ghats. It is also known as one of the best ports from the Neolithic era.

• In 2006, India applied to the UNESCO MAB for the Western Ghats to be listed as a protected World Heritage Site. The Sahyadri Mountain range forms the eastern boundary of the Konkan, and the Arabian Sea marks the western boundary. Jaitapur

was one of the important ports in ancient and early medieval times.

JAITAPUR AS A LOCATION

ISSUESNuclear Project

• Environmental effects of nuclear power and geological issues • The reactors are European Pressurised Reactors(EPR) which are not

operational yet anywhere in the world, and the safety and reliability of the technology is highly questionable. The EPR is based on the same principle as older reactors and, being more powerful, presents even more potential for catastrophe

• This Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 which allows only the

operator (NPCIL) to sue the manufacturers and suppliers. Victims will not be able to sue anyone.

ISSUES RELATED TO THE PROJECT

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• Though Government of Maharashtra state completed land acquisition in January 2010, only 33 out of the 2,335 villagers have accepted compensation cheques as of November 2010.There has been fierce opposition to the project from the people of Jaitapur and the surrounding areas. Land has been forcibly acquired in most cases

• Jaitapur being seismically sensitive area, the danger of an earthquake has been foremost on the minds of people.

• The presence of two major creeks on the proposed site has been ignored while clearing the site.

• The probability of a tsunami, and the damage thereof, has not been taken into account while clearing the site on the backdrop of recent earthquake and followed by Tsunami in Japan that caused serious damage to its atomic power plant at Fukushima added many arguable questions to this issue are raised.

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• It is not clear where the nuclear waste emanating from the site will be dumped. The plant is estimated to generate 300 tonnes of waste each year

• Since the plant will use the sea water for cooling and then release warm water in the Arabian Sea, which will destroy marine life

• According to the report by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) the Government of India is not fully transparent with its own citizens and hiding facts about huge negative impact on the social and environmental development of the Konkan region

• Jaitapur is in the Konkan region is considered to be one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are threatened. This project will put this entire ecosystem at considerable risk.

• According to calculations based on available information show that the investment cost for the Jaitapur plant would be in excess of Rs. 20 crore per MW, which would result in an electricity tariff of not less than Rs. 9 per unit at current prices.

THE PROJECTProtest against

• Many protests have been carried out by local people against the proposed nuclear power plant. On 29 December 2009, 12 January 2010, and 22 January 2010.

• When the government authorities visited Madban for distribution of cheques in lieu of compulsory land acquisition, the villagers refused to accept the cheques.

• Government officials were shown black flags, denied any co-operation in carrying out their activities. 72 people were arrested on 22 January 2010 when people protested against the compulsory land acquisition.

• On December 4, 2010, protests became violent when over 1500 people were detained from among thousands of protesters, who included environmentalists and local villagers.

• Members and leaders of the Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS) and the Janahit Seva Samiti were also detained.

• On April 18, 2011, one man was shot and killed by police and eight were injured after protests turned violent

PROTEST

SITUATIONCurrent

• Meeting between prime minister Manmohan Singh and chief minister Prithviraj Chavan in the presence of Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh over the controversial nuclear power project, the highest-ever compensation is on the cards for Jaitapur’s farmers.

• It has been proposed to acquire 938 hectares for the 10,000 mw nuclear power project in Jaitapur.

• According to Land Acquisition Act, the farmers are eligible for Rs. 50,000/- to Rs.2.5 lakh per hectare. But, in view of the massive agitation launched by local farmers, it was proposed to enhance the amount to ` 8-10 lakh.

• Now, it has been proposed to offer ` 20-22 lakh.

• In addition, NPCIL will provide each family member a job or an additional compensation of ` 5 lakh.

COMPENSATION TO FARMERS

• Earlier, this project was hit by agitation on land acquisition, which was sort out by Maharashtra government by taking several administrative steps including framing a new rehabilitation package to calm down frayed nerves.

• Later, Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan nudged the villagers back in the area protesting to save environment and fishes in the coastal area of Maharashtra.

• In this regard, India asked French Nuclear Safety Authority to have a re-look at the EPR design and suggest modifications if needed. Department of Atomic Energy received the review report in January 2012, it was scrutinised by DAE and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.

• The wait now is to formal signing of the agreement and Cabinet approval.

JAITAPUR PLANT AT PRESENT

CONCLUSIONWhy India should not embark on nuclear expansion

• Most decision makers and investors talk about sustainability and corporate social responsibility, yet the entire nuclear cycle blatantly contradicts this. Radioactive contamination routinely occurs throughout the fuel chain, from uranium mining to processing, reactor operation to the management of nuclear waste.

• A severe accident of a typical pressurized water nuclear reactor, due to technical or human failure, could affect many millions of people, causing tens of thousands of victims and forcing the evacuation of areas as large as Belgium.

• The nuclear industry has spent the past decade trying to convince the public and decision makers that, despite its downsides, nuclear power is needed to tackle the climate crisis. The industry promised to have learned from past disasters, and that it would offer a clean, safe, cheap and reliable source of energy. None of these claims is true.

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• The 2010 International Energy Agency (IEA) energy scenario clearly shows that, even if the world were to build 1,300 new reactors and quadruple nuclear power generation by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by less than 4%. Given the long planning and construction schedules required, this would come far too late to meet the imperative to significantly decline greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and thus prevent climate chaos.

• In addition, implementing the IEA scenario would require $10 trillion US dollars for reactor construction, massively increase the amount of nuclear waste that we and future generations will have to deal with, and create enormous proliferation hazards. A single reactor typically produces several hundred kilograms of plutonium every year – an amount sufficient for dozens of nuclear of nuclear weapons.

Team:Dimple Salian: 36Rajesh Pisat:Jaswinder Aujla: 3Roshan Kanal: 13Krishna:Santosh:Tushar: 30Rahul: 44

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