To address any power crises in the future, the Indian government has started construction activities for 10 ‘fleet mode’ nuclear reactors over the next three years and it was for the first time that the government had approved building 10 nuclear power reactors at the same time to reduce costs and speed up construction time.
Also, the aim under the fleet mode nuclear power plant is to build nuclear reactors over a period of five years from the first pour of concrete that will go in a long way to reduce carbon footprint.
Initially, a 700 MW atomic power plant in Karnataka’s Kaiga district is scheduled in 2023, and the first pour of concrete (FPC) signals for the construction of nuclear power reactors from the pre-project stage which includes excavation activities at the project site.
“The FPC of Kaiga units 5&6 is expected in 2023; FPC of Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan units 3 & 4 and Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Projects units 1 to 4 is expected in 2024; and that of Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project units 1 & 2 in 2025,” officials of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) told the Parliamentary panel on science and technology.
The Centre has now approved the construction of 10 indigenously developed pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) of 700 MW each in June 2017 and ten PHWRs will be built at a cost of ₹ 1.05 lakh crore.
Bulk procurement is already underway for the fleet mode projects and purchase orders placed for forgings for steam generators, SS 304L lattice tubes and plates for end shields, pressuriser forgings, bleed condensers forgings, incoloy-800 tubes for 40 steam generators, reactor headers, DAE officials said.
Engineering, procurement and construction package for turbine island has been awarded for Gorakhpur units three and four and Kaiga units five and six, they added.
India operates 22 reactors with a total capacity to generate 6780 MW and in January 2021, the 700 MW reactor at Kakrapar in Gujarat was connected to the grid but it is yet to start commercial operations.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.