NTPC, India’s state-owned power company, will begin new feasibility studies for nuclear plants in other states, including Uttar Pradesh. A senior executive announced the move as part of a plan targeting 30 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047.
Studies already completed cover three locations: Banka in Bihar, Basai in Madhya Pradesh and Nabarangpur in Odisha. These are the first sites identified as candidates for the company’s nuclear projects. Each feasibility study is submitted to the Department of Atomic Energy, which then forwards it to the Atomic Energy Commission for further review. According to the executive, more states will be explored, because the 30 GW target requires a large number of sites. A source cited by Reuters said NTPC has already begun searching for land in 16 states.
The reference design is a 1,400 MW plant with two 700 MW units. The same source, however, points to a wider range: plants from 700 to 1,600 MW, using multiple technologies. In the short term, the company aims to add at least 2 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2032. The project closest to construction is Mahi Banswara, four 700 MW pressurized heavy water reactors developed through the ASHVINI joint venture, with an EPC tender already issued and first concrete expected around 2027.
The backdrop is India’s national nuclear programme. The country aims to reach at least 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, starting from about 8.8 GW installed today. NTPC, with more than 91,000 MW of total capacity, is the country’s largest producer and has never built a reactor on its own. The government has relaxed the rules to allow foreign entities to hold minority stakes in nuclear projects, and vendors such as Rosatom and EDF are pitching large plants for the Indian market. Indian electricity demand remains above 250 GW at peak, and the authorities describe nuclear as a complement to renewables for grid stability.
Cost estimates show the scale of the commitment: roughly 150-200 billion rupees per gigawatt, or between 4.5 and 6 lakh crore rupees for NTPC’s 30 GW. A roadmap of this kind requires about 4 GW of new nuclear capacity to be built each year nationwide, a pace well beyond the current one.
The next step is approval of the sites by the atomic authorities. If Basai, Banka and Nabarangpur receive the green light, NTPC can move from the study phase to project development, and the list of candidate states, Uttar Pradesh included, will show where the next wave of Indian reactors will be concentrated.
