WASHINGTON: Lobbying lawmakers to approve the 123 Agreement before the close of the 110th Congress, the world’s largest business federation, the US Chamber of Commerce, says that if American companies are allowed to compete in India it could support 2.5 lakh high-tech jobs. This will revitalize US nuclear Industry, much higher than estimated by the Bush Administration.
With India‘s 34-year nuclear isolation now history, the opportunity for US companies today is tremendous, with an expected 30,000 to 60,000 MW of new nuclear generating capacity by 2030, representing a potential USD 150 billion of new investment. French and Russian nuclear firms are already operating in the Indian market.
New Delhi had indicated that it planned to import at least eight new 1,000-megawatt power reactors by 2012 and additional reactors in the years ahead. Just two of these reactor contracts for US firms would add 3-5 thousand new direct jobs and about 10-15 thousand indirect jobs in the United States.
Environmentally, the Initiative will help India‘s population to meet their rapidly rising energy needs. India is growing at rates of 8 to 9 per cent per year, and to sustain those rates of growth, it energy need are very high. India will soon outstrip Japan and Europe as an oil importer.
India relied primarily on domestically-produced coal whose ash content was double that of American coal and emitted far more nitrogen oxide, an element in smoke, and carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas. This means that India will be one of the world’s largest-producers of greenhouse gas emissions. Changing to Nuclear Fuel will help the world in the long run.