The country took a giant leap forward in nuclear power generation when its 16th nuclear power plant and second 540 Mw pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR), Tarapur Atomic Power Plant (TAPP-3), went critical today. | |
| "This is one step before connecting power to the western grid and the electricity produced from this plant would be synchronised to the grid in June," Chairman and Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited SK Jain said, while announcing the criticality. He said the plant went critical by 10:44 am today. |
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| Commercial production will start in July. Once it is begun, the country's total installed capacity of nuclear energy will go up to 3,890 Mw from the existing 3,350 Mw of electricity, the CMD said. |
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| The fourth unit of Tarapur Atomic Power Plant (TAPP-4), commissioned ahead of TAPP-3, went critical last March and was synchronised to the grid in June 2005. It started commercial production in September 2005. |
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| The two units were built at a cost of Rs 6,100 crore although it had an approval cost of Rs 6,525 crore, Jain said. "So NPCIL would be able to sell the electricity generated from the two units to the states connected to western grid at about Rs 2.65," Jain added. |
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| While power-starved Maharashtra will receive the major share of electricity, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Daman and Diu will also receive power from TAPP-3 and 4. The Centre will also allot power to deficit states, he said. |
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| NPCIL would build four PHWRs, each of 700 Mw "" two to be set up at Kakrapar in Gujarat and the other two at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan. |
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| Construction activities at TAPP-3 and 4 were completed in record time "" it was the shortest ever in India and was also a global benchmark. The designs of TAPP-3 and 4, incorporating latest safety features in line with the prevailing international codes and practices, "is also a fore-runner to India's 700 MWe PHWR design to be set-up in the near future," Jain added. |
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