In their first bilateral meeting during the G-20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey in November, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of Australia and Prime Minister Modi of India announced the completion of procedures, including administrative agreements, for the Australia India Civil Nuclear Agreement. The agreement has opened the door for Australian uranium to be exported and be used to fuel India’s nuclear power plants. The Minerals Council of Australia’s Uranium Forum welcomed the finalization of the Australia India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement, and said it looked forward to building relationships with customers and stakeholders in India.
The announcement is timely as it comes days after the release of the International Energy Agency‘s latest World Energy Outlook 2015 detailing the IEA’s projections on nuclear energy growth in India. According to the IEA’s base case, nuclear power generation in India is expected to grow by almost 700% from 2013 to 2040. It sees the share of electricity production generated by nuclear power in India growing by on average almost 8 percent annually.
The IEA’s report says “India has a strong commitment to develop additional nuclear power as a way to meet its rising energy needs and enhance its energy security on a low-carbon basis…..It also has a longer term target for nuclear power to supply 25 per cent of the nation’s electricity by 2050.”
