Indian Railways to Establish Small Nuclear Power Plants for Clean Energy

The Indian Railways are in discussions with the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the power ministry to set up small nuclear power plants for its energy requirements. The move will help the national transporter to achieve net zero goal by 2030.

Officials aware of the development said that Indian Railways will offer land and offtake assurance while DAE and the power ministry will facilitate establishment of plants with a fuel supply agreement.

A senior official told ET, “Discussions have begun…This would help railways achieve net zero swiftly.”

Indian railways is planning to buy 3 GW of renewable energy including hydropower and another 3 GW of thermal and nuclear power in 2030.

Remaining 4 GW needed for traction (energy used to run trains) will be sourced via tieups with power distribution companies.

“Public sector financing arms under Indian Railways will provide the funding support for these projects,” another senior official told ET.

Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) is expected to be among those who will be responsible for raising funds for these projects.

In 2016 railways held exploratory discussions for setting up a joint venture to set up nuclear power plants. But those plans did not pan out due to the costs involved.

Nuclear Energy is still in progress now after a ₹20,000 crore Nuclear Energy Mission was launched in the February 1 budget.

The programme aims at operationalising at least five indigenously developed Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) by 2033. The government looks determined to move large consumers to nuclear energy to fasten the country's green transition.

While responding to a query last week, Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Rajya Sabha that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the power ministry had been approached for the allocation of nuclear power to the national transporter. He added that the power requirement of Indian Railways is increasing significantly.

Vaishnaw said, “Railways has been exploring the option of sourcing power from existing as well as upcoming nuclear power plants to meet part of its traction power requirement.”