The Hindu : Front Page : Nuclear power reactors’ capacity factor will go up, says Anil Kakodkar

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Nuclear power reactors’ capacity factor will go up, says Anil Kakodkar

T.S. Subramanian

India will overcome problems relating to shortage of natural uranium by 2012-2013

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

A STEP FORWARD: (From left) S. Basu, Facilities Director, BARC Facilities at Kalpakkam; Anil Kakodkar, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission; and S. Banerjee, Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, address the media at Kalpakkam near Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: With natural uranium production going up in India, the capacity factor of its nuclear power reactors, which is around 55 per cent now, will go up to 65 per cent by the end of this financial year (2009-2010), said Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), on Sunday.

“Next year, it will rise to 70 to 75 per cent.” The capacity would go up although three new reactors — two units at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS-5 and 6) and the fourth unit at Kaiga in Karnataka — would be commissioned “in a phased manner between this year and next year,” he said, addressing a press conference at Kalpakkam.

Dr. Kakodkar was confident that the capacity of the reactors would go up because the capacity of the mill at Jaduguda in Jharkhand, which converted natural uranium into yellow cake, had been augmented. Another mill at Turamdih, also in Jharkhand, was commissioned and its production of yellow cake was going up. “We have launched an expansion programme at Jaduguda and it is complete. Turamdih expansion will be completed next year,” he said. The uranium mine and the mill, which were under construction at Tummlapalle in Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, would go on stream in 2013. Exploration mining was taking place at Gogi in Karnataka. “By 2012-2013 horizon, we will overcome all the problems” relating to the shortage of natural uranium that led to a drop in the capacity factor of the reactors, he said.

(India has 15 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors — PHWRs — that use natural uranium as fuel, and heavy water as coolant and moderator. India also has two Light Water Reactors that use enriched uranium as fuel, and light water as coolant and moderator).

New projects

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was looking forward to the start of the construction of four PHWRs of 700 MWe each, for which the Union government had given approval. Dr. Kakodkar said, “That is where the new mines will come in handy. After a while, we will start the construction of four more reactors of 700 MWe each. It is a question of progressively increasing the capacity factor and also adding capacity.”

Srikumar Banerjee, Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), said the successful development of the 80 MWe Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) at Kalpakkam, which used enriched uranium as fuel, ushered in the PWR technology in India. The experience gained in this project would help in the indigenous development of PWRs for large-scale electricity generation. The reactor pressure vessel used in this PWR was made of special steel, which only a few countries had developed. It had high strength at a high temperature, Dr. Banerjee said.

(An identical PWR, built by BARC, forms the powerhouse of INS Arihant, India’s indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine).

Russian role

Asked whether the Russians had any role in developing the PWR, Dr. Banerjee said the development of a technology like this occurred in stages, and the PWR at Kalpakkam had been operating from September 2006. “In doing so, we have used the Russians as consultants. As far as efforts in designing, developing and maintaining the reactor are concerned, they are entirely ours,” the BARC Director said.

S. Basu, Director, BARC Facilities at Kalpakkam, also asserted that “everything is totally indigenous” about the PWR developed at Kalpakkam. “It has been developed by us. It is 100 per cent our reactor,” he said. Arihant was a demonstration of India’s indigenous capability to build a nuclear-powered submarine, and it was a joint endeavour of the DAE, the Navy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Mr. Basu said.

Rear Admiral Michael Moraes, Flag Officer Commanding (submarines), was sure the design of Arihant was good. The Navy had already trained the crew who would man it. For submarines, “it is a constant between stealth technology and the detection technology. Any strong nation will like to have a submarine fleet because they can go anywhere in the world,” Rear Admiral Moraes said.

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