All future foreign atomic reactors to be 1200 Mw and above: Govt

The 6 proposed nuclear power reactors in Maharashtra will also have capacity of 1,650 Mw each

The government has decided that all future foreign atomic reactors in India will have a capacity to generate 1,200 Mw and above, in a bid to augment nuclear power generation.

"We already have foreign power plants with a capacity of 1,000 Mw (Kudankulam). The technology too has advanced that we have reactors with such a capacity. If we are installing them, then might as well have reactors that can generate more power and make optimum use of it," a senior government official said.

According to sources, the second site to be allocated to the Russians at Kavali in Andhra Pradesh for its proposed nuclear power park will also have atomic reactors with an enhanced capacity of 1,200 Mw.

The existing VVER reactors built by Russians at Kudankulam have a capacity of 1,000 Mw each.

At 1,200 Mw, the power generation capacity of these prospective foreign reactors will be a little over twice the capacity of the indigenously developed Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) in the country.

The current PHWRs in operation have the capacity to generate between 220 Mw to 540 Mw. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is already constructing its indigenous PHRWs with a ramped capacity of 700 Mw for its upcoming reactor.

Incidentally, the government has also given its nod to increase the capacity of six AP-1000 reactors, to be built by USA's Westinghouse Co in Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh, to 1,208 Mw each.

The six proposed nuclear power reactors in Jaitapur in Maharashtra will also have capacity of 1,650 Mw each.

If the projects at Kavali and Kovvada come up, Andhra Pradesh will have atomic power reactors generating 14,448 Mw, the highest in the country. These projects are expected to be finished in next 15-20 years.