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Kalpakkam FBR to go critical by 2010

CHENNAI: The 500-MW prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) at Kalpakkam will go critical by September 2010, according to the Director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Baldev Raj.

Talking to journalists here on Monday, Mr. Raj, who is responsible for designing and developing FBRs, said the Central government had approved four more FBRs of 500 MW each during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period. “The sites for two FBRs have already been identified. They would come up in Kalpakkam near Chennai, while the other two units can be set up anywhere in India. They would go critical by 2020.”

Mr. Raj said they were setting up the first FBR by investing over Rs.3,400 crore and the power could be supplied at Rs.3.22 per unit.

The generated power would be fed into the Central grid and thereafter, discussions would be held with different States to ascertain their requirements.

“After evaluating the performance of the first FBR for six months, we will start work on the next set of two FBRs. The construction work would be taken up by 2013-14 and would be completed by 2020. At that time, India would be in a strong position with regard to technology, robustness and competitiveness. By 2020, France is trying to build a prototype. At this point of time, we can’t say whether we would be in a position to supply our expertise to others,” he added.

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