India’s ticking nuclear crisis: Part I – Hindustan Times by DiaNuke.org

India has missed its five-yearly nuclear power generation target by 74%, its plans crippled by the protests at Kudankulam and other nuclear plant sites that have left the country's energy security roadmap under a cloud of uncertainty.

The government had set an already modest

target of adding 3380 MW of additional nuclear power by 2012 to the country's 3900 MW capacity at the start of the 11th Five Year Plan in 2007.

But failure to convince local people and activists at almost every site handpicked for a nuclear plant has left the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) with only 880 MW to show as nuclear power added over the past five years.

Similar protests over the coming few years could seriously jeopardize India's current energy security strategy, energy economists, government experts and NPCIL officials have cautioned.

"We have to build consensus," said Professor Surendar Kumar, a senior energy economist at Delhi University.