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Nuclear Plants
Russia's state-run nuclear corporation on Thursday said it has delivered the first consignment of nuclear fuel for initial loading of the third reactor at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. The delivery of the nuclear fuel coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin's arrival in New Delhi on a two-day visit. A cargo flight operated by the Nuclear Fuel Division of Rosatom delivered fuel assemblies manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, the corporation said in a statement. A total of seven flights from Russia are planned to supply the entire reactor core and some reserve fuel. These shipments are provided under a contract signed in 2024, which includes fuel supply for the third and fourth VVER-1000 reactors of the Kudankulam plant for the entire service life, starting from initial loading. The Kudankulam plant will have six VVER-1000 reactors with a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW. The first two reactors at Kudankulam were connected to .
The eight huge cooling towers of the Dukovany power plant overlook a construction site for two more reactors as the Czech Republic pushes ahead with plans to expand its reliance on nuclear energy. Mobile drilling rigs have been extracting samples 140 metres below ground for a geological survey to make sure the site is suitable for a USD 19 billion project as part of the expansion that should eventually at least double the country's nuclear output and cement its place among Europe's most nuclear-dependent nations. South Korea's KHNP beat France's EDF in a tender to construct a new plant whose two reactors will have an output of over 1,000 megawatts each. After becoming operational in the second half of the 2030s, they will complement Dukovany's four 512-MW reactors that date from the 1980s. The KHNP deal gives the Czechs an option to have two more units built at the other nuclear plant in Temeln, which currently has two 1,000-megawatt reactors. Then, they are set to follow up with .
State-owned electricity producer NTPC plans to set up nuclear power projects with 700 MW, 1,000 MW and 1,600 MW capacity across various locations in the country, a senior company official said. NTPC is targeting a 30 per cent share (30 GW) of India's proposed 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047. Industry estimates indicate that a 1-GW nuclear plant requires an investment of Rs 15,00020,000 crore and typically takes at least three years from concept to commissioning. Sharing updates on the company's nuclear expansion plans, the official said NTPC is currently evaluating land options in several states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, among others. "The capacities of the nuclear projects would be 700 MW, 1,000 MW and 1,600 MW," said the official who is involved in the company's strategic planning. NTPC will proceed with nuclear development in states identified and approved by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). "The AERB will approve the sites, and NT
Russia's sustained bombardment of Ukraine's power grid is deepening concerns about the safety of the country's nuclear facilities after a drone knocked out power for more than three hours to the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in northern Ukraine, officials said Thursday. The drone strike adds to concerns raised more than a week ago when the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine became disconnected from the power grid following attacks that each side has blamed on the other. Both Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia are not currently operational, but they require a constant power supply to run crucial cooling systems for spent fuel rods in order to avoid a potential nuclear incident. A blackout also could blind radiation monitoring systems installed to boost security at Chernobyl and operated by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. Russia is deliberately creating the threat of radiation incidents, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy s
Home-grown power giant NTPC, which is diversifying into clean energy generation, looks to acquire uranium assets overseas to ensure fuel availability for its future nuclear projects, according to a company official. Established as a thermal-based power generator in 1975, NTPC Ltd (erstwhile National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd), has been increasing its capacity while diversifying into new modes of energy generation. The country's largest power generator has an installed capacity of 83,026 megawatt at group level based on fuel sources like coal, gas/liquid fuel, hydro, and solar, according to the NTPC website. To increase its non fossil fuel-based energy generation capacity, the company has plans to set up nuclear projects at various locations in India both through joint venture route and individually. "For fuel, we are exploring the possibility of acquiring overseas uranium assets. Our board has already approved a draft MoU (memorandum of understanding) with Uranium Corporation o
Moscow's renewed attacks on Ukraine's electricity infrastructure this winter have heightened scrutiny over the Ukrainian Energy Ministry's failure to protect the country's most critical energy facilities near nuclear power sites. Despite more than a year of warnings that the sites were vulnerable to potential Russian attacks, the Energy Ministry failed to act swiftly, current and former Ukrainian officials in Kyiv told The Associated Press. Two years of punishing Russian strikes on its power grid have left Ukraine reliant on nuclear power for more than half of its electricity generation. Especially vulnerable are the unprotected nuclear switchyards located outside the perimeters of its three functioning nuclear plants, which are crucial to transmitting power from the reactors to the rest of the country. The switchyards that handle electrical routing from nuclear power plants are a vital component of Ukraine's nuclear energy infrastructure powering homes, schools, hospitals, and oth
India's nuclear power operator NPCIL on Tuesday invited proposals from the industry to set up 220 MW Bharat Small Reactors for captive use, replacing the existing coal-fired thermal power plants used by the steel, aluminium, copper and cement industries. Bharat Small Reactors are 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) with an impeccable safety and excellent performance record, which are compact and tailored for captive use, according to a statement from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). "NPCIL has today invited Request for Proposals (RFP) from visionary Indian industries for setting up 220 MW Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs) for captive use," said the statement. The nuclear power operator said BSRs can provide a sustainable solution for decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries. It would also help these industries secure economic benefits resulting from savings in carbon emission related taxes, thus increasing competitiveness of their products in the ..
Pakistan is set to construct its largest nuclear plant for electricity generation after the country's atomic energy regulatory agency issued the licence for it. The Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA) issued the licence to build Chashma Nuclear Power Plant Unit 5 (C-5, the largest plant producing electricity through nuclear power with a capacity of 1200 MWe, according to a PNRA press release issued on Thursday. The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission applied for the licence in April of this year, along with the Preliminary Safety Assessment Report and other documents about the design and operational aspects of nuclear safety, radiation protection, emergency preparedness, waste management, and nuclear security, the Dawn newspaper reported. After a thorough review and assessment of and fulfilment of regulatory requirements in compliance with the relevant national and international standards, the licence was issued, the PNRA press release stated. C-5 is an advanced ...
The government has approved a joint venture between NPCIL and NTPC to build four 700 MWe nuclear power plants at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan. The Department of Atomic Energy handed over the document approving the joint venture 'Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Limited (ASHVINI)'? to top officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on Tuesday, an official statement said. With this approval, ASHVINI has been authorized to build, own and operate nuclear power plants in India in accordance with the existing legal framework, the statement from NPCIL said. It said ASHVINI will be a subsidiary of NPCIL, which will have 51 per cent stake in the entity. The Mahi Banswara project of 4x700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) will be implemented by ASHVINI. The joint venture will pave the way for pooling resources in terms of finances and expertise for the rapid expansion of nuclear power capacity in the country to meet the
India aims to deploy 40-50 small modular nuclear reactors, mostly to replace captive thermal power plants, as it aims to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2070. A top industry official said that the 220-MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) was being redesigned using 3D design platforms with an aim to achieve a high degree of standardisation that would allow easy deployment, even in old thermal power plants used by the steel, aluminium, copper and the cement industries. The Department of Atomic Energy and Tata Consulting Engineers are redesigning the PHWRs to develop the Bharat Small Modular Reactor. "We are going to take the old design of the PHWR and then reconfigure and redesign it to be modular, scalable and safety-aligned to post-Fukushima standards," Amit Sharma, the managing director and CEO of Tata Consulting Engineers, told PTI. Sharma said in the case of small modular reactors (SMRs), the plan was to make 40-50 reactors in less than seven to eight years but .
Russia and Ukraine on Monday traded blame before the United Nations Security Council for the attacks on Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said have put the world dangerously close to a nuclear accident. Without attributing blame, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency has been able to confirm three attacks against the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant since April 7. These reckless attacks must cease immediately, he told the Security Council. Though, fortunately, they have not led to a radiological incident this time, they significantly increase the risk where nuclear safety is already compromised. The remote-controlled nature of the drones that have attacked the plant means that it is impossible to definitively determine who launched them, Grossi told reporters after the meeting. In order to say something like that, we must have proof, he said. These attacks have been performed with a multitude of ...
The head of the UN's atomic watchdog agency said Sunday a drone attack on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident." In a statement on the social media platform X, Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed at least three direct hits against ZNPP main reactor containment structures took place. This cannot happen, he said. He said it was the first such attack since November 2022, when he set out five basic principles to avoid a serious nuclear accident with radiological consequences. In a separate statement, the IAEA confirmed physical impact of drone attacks at the plant, including at one of its six reactors. One casualty was reported, it said. "Damage at unit 6 has not compromised nuclear safety, but this is a serious incident with potential to undermine integrity of the reactor's containment system it added. Officials at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant said that
Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were mixed Friday amid uncertainty over how seafood consumers will respond to the release of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean. The plant, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, began sending the treated water into the Pacific on Thursday despite protests at home and in nearby countries that are adding political and diplomatic pressures to the economic worries. Hideaki Igari, a middleman at the Numanouchi fishing port, said the price of larger flounder, Fukushima's signature fish known as Joban-mono, was more than 10% lower at the Friday morning auction, the first since the water release began. Prices of some average-size flounder rose, but presumably due to a limited catch, says Igari. Others fell. It was a relatively calm market reaction to the water release. But, Igari said, "we still have to see how it goes next week. The decadeslong release has been strongly