PM to lay foundation stone of NTPC's 2,800 MW nuclear project in Rajasthan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of NTPC and NPCIL's 2,800 MW Mahi Banswara nuclear project in Rajasthan, marking NTPC's nuclear entry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay the foundation stone for a 2,800-Megawatt (Mw) nuclear power project in Banswara, Rajasthan soon, which will be set up jointly by NTPC Ltd and Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL).

 

With this project, state-owned NTPC will make a debut into the nuclear power generation domain. The project will house four Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 Mw capacity each.

 

“The first unit of the plant will be commissioned in 2031 and the rest of the units will be commissioned at a gap of six months each. The material for the plant will be sourced mainly from Indian contractors through domestic competitive bidding,” said an official privy to the development. 

 

Apart from the Prime Miniter, the foundation stone laying ceremony is likely to be attended by Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Rajasthan Governor Haribhai Bagade, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Secretary S K Sarangi and Department of Atomic Energy Secretary A K Mohanty. 

 

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Chairman D K Shukla and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Director Vivek Bhasin are also likely to join the ceremony, apart from NTPC Chairman and Managing Director Gurdeep Singh and NPCIL Chairman Bhuwan Chandra Pathak.

 

Speaking at an industry event recently, NTPC CMD Gurdeep Singh had said the company plans to go “very aggressive” on nuclear power aiming to add 30 GW capacity by 2047. It will set up projects on standalone basis and also as part of an existing JV with NPCIL. The company is in talks with Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), L&T, EDF, Rosatom, and Holtec, he had said.

 

India currently has 8,800 Mw installed nuclear power generation capacity, and plans to raise that figure to 200,000 Mw (or 200 Gw) by 2047.

 

As part of the efforts to boost the sector, the government had announced a provision of around ₹20,000 crore in the last Union Budget. Nuclear power is preferred for its low emission profile and its use as baseload power source for the grid.