Wedoany.com Report-Mar 18, Unit 7 at the Rajasthan nuclear power station in Rajasthan state, northern India, was connected to the national grid on 17 March at 02.37 local time, state nuclear operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) said.
Unit 7 at the Rajasthan nuclear power station in Rajasthan state, northern India, was connected to the national grid on 17 March. Courtesy Govt of Rawatbhata.
The 630-MW Rajasthan-7 is the third in a series of 16 indigenous pressurised heavy water reactor units (PHWRs) which India has said it plans to build. The first two units, Kakarapar-3 and Kakrapar-4 in Gujurat state, western India, began commercial operation in 2023 and 2024.
NPCIL said the unit’s power level will now be increased in steps to full power, “in line with the regulatory clearances”.
A twin unit at the site, Rajasthan-8, is expected to be operational in 2025 or 2026, NPCIL said.
According to International Atomic Energy Agency data, India has 20 nuclear lants in commercial operation, but this total does not include Rajasthan-7. The IAEA says India has seven units under construction, including Rajasthan-7. The nuclear fleet provided 3.1% of the country’s electricity generation in 2023.
Site works have begun for the construction of two PHWR units at Gorakhpur in Haryana state. Ten further 700 MW PHWRs have received administrative approval and financial sanction. They are: Kaiga-5 and Kaiga-6 in Karnataka state; Gorakhpur-3 and -4 in Haryana state; Chutka-1 and -2 in Madhya Pradesh state and Mahi Banswara-1, -2, -3 and -4 in Rajasthan.
The NPCIL-designed Generation III PHWR was developed from earlier 220 MW and 540 MW Canadian Candu designs.
New Delhi is bullish on nuclear. NPCIL said recently that India plans to add 18 more nuclear reactors to its national energy mix by 2031-32, bringing the total nuclear power capacity of the country to 22.4 GW.
NPCIL did not say whether the 22.4 GW would be net or gross, but either way it represents a significant increase from around 6.9 GW net today.
