The Hindu : National : Work on 700 MWe nuclear reactors in Rajasthan to begin soon

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Work on 700 MWe nuclear reactors in Rajasthan to begin soon

T.S. Subramanian

Foundation for two PHWRs in Gujarat almost complete
Four more 700 MWe reactors to be built

CHENNAI: The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of two indigenous nuclear power reactors of 700 MWe capacity each at Rawatbhatta in Rajasthan will take place in two to three weeks.

This follows the clearance given to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) on Wednesday by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for excavating the foundation for these two reactors, said Sudhinder Thakur, Executive Director, NPCIL. These pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) will use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as both moderator and coolant.

The excavation of the foundation for two PHWRs of 700 MWe each at Kakrapar in Gujarat was nearly complete and the NPCIL was awaiting permission for the first pour of the concrete, Mr. Thakur said.

Four more 700 MWe reactors — two each at Kumharia in Haryana and Bargi in Madhya Pradesh – would be built.

The 700 MWe PHWRs are the largest reactors to be built by the NPCIL, which had earlier built two PHWRs of 540 MWe each at Tarapur in Maharashtra.

There is a three-fold increase in power generation from five nuclear reactors — Rajasthan units 2, 3,4, 5 and 6 at Rawatbhatta — consequent to India receiving imported natural uranium fuel from Russia and France. “The first benefits of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to have international commerce with India have led to an improvement in nuclear power generation in Rajasthan,” the NPCIL Executive Director said.

Unit-2 had been generating its full power of 200 MWe from September 1, 2009. The Units 3 and 4, which were operating at 60 per cent of the capacity factor, were now operating at their full power of 220 MWe each. The fifth and sixth reactors, which began commercial operation in February and March 2010 respectively, were also generating their full power of 220 MW each. The Unit-3 operated continuously for more than 400 days from June 26, 2009 to August 5, 2010.

The first unit (100 MWe) at Rawatbhatta had been shut down for several months now and the Union government would take a techno-economic decision whether to continue to operate it or shut it down permanently, Mr. Thakur said.

He described it as “an old reactor” that began commercial operation in December 1973.

The fourth reactor at Kaiga in Karnataka, which will attain criticality in October this year, will use domestic natural uranium as fuel.

At present, the country has 19 operating reactors with a total generation capacity of 4,560 MWe.

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