By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com
Adani Group, the conglomerate of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, could become India’s biggest private nuclear power capacity developer within a decade, targeting 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, as India opened its civil nuclear power sector to private investment.
“Our entry into nuclear energy through Adani Atomic Energy is another confident step towards securing India's long-term energy future,” Gautam Adani said at the annual general meeting of Adani Group on Wednesday.
“With land identified and a 10 GW targeted capacity by 2035, we are positioning ourselves early to serve the growing national demand for clean, round-the-clock power,” the billionaire said.
A panel set up by India’s power ministry has said in a report that India’s goal to boost its installed nuclear power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047, up from just 8.8 GW now, would require as much as 19.28 trillion Indian rupees, or $204 billion at current exchange rates, of cumulative capital.
The Indian government has said that its Nuclear Energy Mission targets 100 GW capacity by 2047 “through deployment of existing and emerging advanced nuclear technologies, both indigenous & with foreign cooperation.”
Adani Group is reportedly in talks with the state government of India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state on a public-private partnership to build small modular reactors (SMRs) as India opens its nuclear energy sector to private investment.
Adani is in discussions with Uttar Pradesh officials to build eight SMRs with capacity of 200 megawatts (MW) each at yet-to-be-identified sites in the state, anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg at the end of 2025.
If the group meets its target to have 10 GW in nuclear capacity by 2035, it would become India’s third-largest operator of nuclear power capacity behind state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and state coal giant NTPC Limited. NPCIL currently operates all of India’s 8 GW of nuclear power capacity.
Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries of another billionaire, Mukesh Ambani, is also considering investments in India’s nuclear power sector after the opening to private capital.