India's cumulative installed electricity generating capacity will more than double from 272.8GW in 2014 to 609GW by 2025, with nuclear and renewables expected to show impressive growth over the period, according to research and consulting firm GlobalData.
India's nuclear capacity is expected to increase more than sixfold, from 5.8GW in 2014 to 35.2GW by 2025, according to Chiradeep Chatterjee, GlobalData's Senior Analyst covering Power.
"India's nuclear energy development strategy has been divided into three stages due to its limited reserves of uranium, which are already being used in existing reactors. The potential for generating power from uranium mined in India has been estimated at 10GW," Chatterjee explained.
"However, the country has large reserves of thorium, with the result that the transition to breeder reactors that use thorium has been proposed, through this three-stage strategy."
India currently has 21 reactors (5.8GW) in operation, plus Kudamkulam 2 (1000MW VVER) in the commissioning phase and five units under construction, including a 500MW prototype fast breeder reactor.
In October, reactor operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said that four more reactors (two 700MW units and two 1000MW units) were 'ready for launch'.
In addition to nuclear growth, GlobalData's report also predicted that India's renewable capacity (excluding hydropower) is expected to more than triple from 33.1GW in 2014 to around 125.9GW by the end of 2025.
