New Delhi, April 30 (IANS) India is constructing four indigenous nuclear power reactors in Gujarat and Rajasthan, which will be completed by 2019, the government said on Thursday.
The Department of Atomic Energy has set for itself an ambitious target of reaching an installed generation capacity of 63,000 MW by the year 2031-32, Minister for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said in the Rajya Sabha.
The four nuclear power reactors are the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project, units 3 and 4 (2X700 MW) at Kakrapar, near Surat in Gujarat, and the Rawatbhata Atomic Power Project, units 7 and 8 (2X700 MW) at Rawatbhata, near Kota in Rajasthan.
The plants are under construction and expected to be completed by 2019, Minister for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said in the Rajya Sabha.
“In addition, a prototype fast breeder reactor of 500 MW capacity is at an advanced stage of commissioning at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Financial sanction has been accorded for two indigenous reactors – Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Gorakhpur, units 1 and 2 (2X700 MW) at Gorakhpur, Haryana.
These are being readied for launch in 2015-16, and are scheduled for completion in 2021.
Two more indigenous 700 MW reactors are also expected to be completed by 2024, the minister said.
Jitendra Singh said the Centre has also accorded ‘in principle’ approval to five coastal sites for locating nuclear power projects in future, based on both indigenous technologies and with foreign cooperation.
For indigenous reactors, it has chosen Gorakhpur, Haryana, for 4X700 MW reactors, Chutka in Madhya Pradesh for 2X700 MW reactors, Bhimpur, Madhya Pradesh, for 4X700 MW reactors, Kaiga, in Karnataka for 2X700MW and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan for 4X700 MW reactors.
With foreign cooperation, it is setting up in Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu, 4X1,000 MW reactors alongwith Russia, in Jaitapur, Maharashtra, 6X1,650 MW reactors in cooperation with France, in Chhaya MithiVirdi, Gujarat, 6X1,000 MW reactors with the US and Kovvada, Andhra Pradesh, 6X1,000 reactors with the US, and Haripur, West Bengal, 6X1,000 MW reactors with Russia.
Pre-project activities are in progress at various stages at these sites, where the projects will be taken up progressively, in phases of twin units at a site.
The installed nuclear generation capacity by 2031-32 would depend on actual start of projects and their completion, which in turn would be contingent to completion of pre-project activities like land acquisition and obtaining statutory clearances and conclusion of techno-commercial discussion in respect of reactors to be set up with foreign co-operation, Jitendra Singh said.
