India Evaluates Small Modular Reactors to Complement Renewable Energy Expansion

India is increasingly examining small modular reactors as a potential complement to solar and wind energy in addressing the country's rapidly growing electricity demand, driven by industrial decarbonisation, data centres and electrified transportation. The country's annual energy demand was 1,734 terawatt hours in 2023-24 and is projected to approach 9,000 TWh by 2050.

Large energy-intensive sectors including steel, cement, aluminium, chemicals and data centres are expected to account for approximately half of India's projected demand growth by 2050. These industries require clean, consistent and high-density electricity supply that intermittent solar and wind generation alone cannot reliably provide at the scale required. Battery storage technologies currently cannot bridge multi-day generation gaps at national scale, creating a structural need for firm, low-carbon baseload capacity.

Small modular reactors, which produce between 10 and 300 megawatts of electricity per unit compared to the 1,000-plus megawatts of conventional nuclear plants, offer potential advantages in terms of faster construction timelines, modular scaling, reduced upfront capital and compatibility with existing industrial heat applications. India's nuclear establishment has been developing indigenous SMR designs, and recent policy discussions have elevated nuclear power from a peripheral option to an active component of the country's long-term energy strategy. Several international SMR developers have also expressed interest in the Indian market.

The path to SMR deployment in India involves regulatory, technological and financing hurdles that will take several years to resolve. The Atomic Energy Act limits private and foreign participation in nuclear energy, a constraint that may need legislative revision for a broad SMR programme. Proponents argue that early policy decisions made now will determine whether India can access nuclear technology in time to meet its 2050 decarbonisation commitments, while critics raise concerns about cost overruns and the timeline relative to falling renewable and storage prices.

Key figure — India's energy demand projected to reach 9,000 TWh per year by 2050