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Nuclear Projects
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of a slew of development projects during his visit to Rajasthan's Banswara on Thursday, including the Rs 42,000 crore Mahi-Banswara nuclear plant, officials said. The projects span across key sectors such as energy, water, infrastructure, health and urban development, they said. Among the projects to be launched, the proposed 2,800 MW nuclear facility is the most important as it is expected to play a crucial role in the state's journey toward energy self-sufficiency, officials said. The other projects include a 590 MW renewable energy project in Bikaner to be built at a cost of Rs 8,500 crore, high-capacity power transmission lines with a total capacity of 15.5 gigawatts being laid across Jaisalmer, Barmer, Sirohi, Nagaur and Bikaner for Rs 13,183 crore. Fifteen new drinking water supply projects across 11 districts, including Banswara, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Sikar and Ajmer, worth Rs 5,884, construction of two
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
Construction work has intensified on a major new structure at a facility key to Israel's long-suspected atomic weapons programme, according to satellite images analysed by experts. They say it could be a new reactor or a facility to assemble nuclear arms but secrecy shrouding the programme makes it difficult to know for sure. The work at the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Centre near the city of Dimona will renew questions about Israel's widely believed status as the Mideast's only nuclear-armed state. It could also draw international criticism, especially since it comes after Israel and the United States bombed nuclear sites across Iran in June over their fears that the Islamic Republic could use its enrichment facilities to pursue an atomic weapon. Among the sites attacked was Iran's heavy water reactor at Arak. Seven experts who examined the images all said they believed the construction was related to Israel's long-suspected nuclear weapons program, given its proximity to
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 ...
Power giant NTPC has plans to set up a nuclear project in Bihar, a move which will increase its non fossil energy portfolio, the company's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Gurdeep Singh said on Thursday. NTPC has also requested the state government for a land parcel at a suitable location to take forward its nuclear plans, he said addressing a session at the 'Bihar Business Connect 2024' summit here. "Looking at the future of the energy sector, nuclear (energy) is expected to become extremely important for the energy sector, 20-30 years down the line. I want to share that NTPC is now entering the nuclear energy space," Singh said. Without sharing any further details, he said NTPC will conduct a study before taking ahead the plans to set up the nuclear project in the state. On September 11, the Indian government gave its approval to the Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Ltd (ASHVINI), a joint venture of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd NPCIL (51 per cent) and NTPC (49 per cent) to
The Union government on Tuesday said discussions were in progress with the Westinghouse Electric Company of the US for a viable project proposal to build six 1000-MW nuclear reactors at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh, said the land for the main plant area for Kovvada Nuclear Power Plant of 2079.66 acres has been acquired and mutated in the name of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Singh said 190.7 acres of land has been acquired for an R&R (rehabilitation and resettlement) colony and land for the employees' township has been identified by district administration. The minister said pre-project activities such as preliminary geotechnical investigations, and geological and seismo-tectonic studies have been completed. The construction of a 13-km boundary wall, the establishment of six micro earthquake stations and the establishment of one meteorological monitoring lab ..
Iran has started up new cascades of advanced centrifuges and plans to install others in the coming weeks after facing criticism over its nuclear programme, the United Nations' atomic watchdog said Friday. The US called the moves nuclear escalations. Spinning up new centrifuges further advances Iran's nuclear programme, which already enriches uranium at near-weapons-grade levels and boasts a stockpile enough for several nuclear bombs if it chose to pursue them. However, the acknowledgement from the International Atomic Energy Agency did not include any suggestion Iran planned to go to higher enrichment levels amid wider tensions between Tehran and the West as the Israel-Hamas war rages in the Gaza Strip. The IAEA said its inspectors verified Monday that Iran had begun feeding uranium into three cascades of advanced IR-4 and IR-6 centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility. Cascades are a group of centrifuges that spin uranium gas together to more quickly enrich the uranium. So far,
Pakistan sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts last year despite its economic turmoil as its contentious relationship with India continues to drive its defence policy, the top US intelligence official has told Congress. The remarks by Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency came during a Congressional hearing on China on Monday???. Kruse told lawmakers that Pakistan has sought international support, including from the UN Security Council, to resolve its dispute with India about Kashmir. Separately, Islamabad and New Delhi have maintained an uneasy ceasefire along the shared Line of Control since February 2021, he said. Pakistan has sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts despite its economic turmoil. Terrorist violence against Pakistani security forces and civilians also rose last year, he said. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan is reported to have 170 nuclear warheads as of January 2023. Cash-strapped .
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
India and France are trying to move forward on elements related to putting in place a financing mechanism and localisation component for the 9,900 MWe Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district. Responding to questions on civil nuclear cooperation between India and France and whether the Jaitapur project was put on pause, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said the French power company EDF and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) were discussing elements such as a financing mechanism and localisation component of the project. "The two entities on both sides -- EDF and NPCIL -- are essentially trying to move forward on these issues and a whole lot of progress has been made," the foreign secretary said. The first memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the Jaitapur nuclear project was inked in 2009 with French nuclear supplier Areva, which went bankrupt. In 2016, the EDF and NPCIL signed a revised MoU, and an "industrial way forward" in the ...