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Bharat Small Reactors - or BSRs - are described as compact 220 MWe pressurised heavy water reactors that are tailored for "captive use". Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the July 2024 budget that the government would partner with the private sector to set up BSRs as part of its efforts to achieve net-zero goals.
The Request for Proposals from Indian users to finance and build a proposed fleet of 220 MW Bharat Small Reactors to help decarbonise Indian industry was issued by India's nuclear power operator on 31 December 2024 with a deadline of 31 March, but this has already been extended several times. In June, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) said it was extending the due date for proposals - which had already been extended twice - to 30 September to accommodate "requests from many more industrial houses/industries who have expressed keenness to implement the BSR(s) for achieving their targets for decarbonising their power consumption, and have requested NPCIL to extend the date for proposal submission."
An update to the RFP, issued by NPCIL on 29 September now moves the proposal due date to 31 March 2026.
According to that document, around 70 delegates from 27 "private/public industries" attended a pre-proposal meeting held in February. By 29 September, six companies had submitted documents to proceed with the RFP process.
Interested parties
The six companies named in the latest update are Hindalco Industries Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, Tata Power Co, Reliance Industries, JSW Energy Ltd and Adani Power Ltd.
Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Power Co and Reliance Industries are named as having submitted the documents specified in the RFP for the signature of non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and collected tentative Bill of Quantities, plant performance data, and operation and maintenance expenditure data after signing NDAs. JSW Energy Ltd and Adani Power Ltd have submitted the documents for signing NDAs, which are "under evaluation and further processing".
According to the NPCIL document, these companies have also identified probable sites for BSRs and submitted preliminary site reports for 16 sites. Five of these are in Gujarat, four in Madhya Pradesh, three in Odisha, two in Andhra Pradesh, and one each in Jharkand and Chhattisgarh. NPCIL said it has written to the state governments of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha "requesting to extend necessary support for site investigation activities and land & water allocation for setting up BSR".
The companies had requested an extension of the 30 September deadline "as they need more time to evaluate the respective sites and work out the CAPEX and O&M cost of BSR", amongst other things, NPCIL said. In addition, "more industries have shown interest in setting up BSR and are in communication with NPCIL", it added.
"As the global business landscape shifts decisively toward green energy, Indian industries are increasingly recognising the strategic importance of securing carbon-free, clean power for their operations. This transition is not only critical for maintaining global competitiveness but also essential to avoid potential trade barriers inked to carbon intensive exports."
"BSR initiative being part of NPCIL's broader commitment to support India's clean energy transition … it has been decided to extend the deadline for submission of proposal."
The RFP envisages that the BSR users would be responsible for all the capital and operating expenditure for the project from pre-project and throughout its entire life cycle including decommissioning. The project would be constructed by the user under the supervision and control of NPCIL, and transferred to NPCIL for operation on completion of construction. In return, the user would have the rights to the electricity generated by the plant for meeting its own captive power requirements, but would also be able to sell electricity to other customers subject to the applicable regulations.
