About 30-40% of the power development in the Asia-Pacific region is of nuclear type.
To meet the long term energy needs of India, a 3-stage nuclear power programme was formulated in 1954. The programme aimed at using natural resources of uranium and thorium available in the country for power generation as below:
Stage I: 10,000 MW through natural uranium fuelled pressured heavy water reactors;
Stage II: Fast breeder reactors with plutonium as fuel and thorium as blanket for breeding U-233; and
Stage III: Breeder reactors using U-233 as fuel aid thorium as blanket
Nuclear power production began in India with the commissioning in 1969,
of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS 420 MW) at Tarapur in
Maharashtra.
This station had two boiling water reactors (BWRs) and it
was set up with US help on a turnkey basis. The US discontinued its
cooperation in 1974. The Nuclear Power Board with the support of Indian
industries successfully developed the required technology and the plant
is operating successfully.
For putting up India’s first power stations, the Tarapur site, near Mumbai in western India was chosen in 1958 after a comprehensive survey of a number of possible sites all over the country. Two boiling water reactors (BWR) of 200 MW each were purchased from USA in 1964 as a turn key project, but with maximum participation of Indian personnel in all stages of design, construction, testing and training operations.
The station went into commercial operation in late 1969
Kalpakkam Power Station:
The third power station near Chennai consists of two units of 235 MW each. Though these reactors are similar to the Rajasthan units, several design modifications have been introduced for reasons of economy and due to special conditions at the site.
Some of the modified features include pre-stressed concrete reactor containment building, stainless steel end shields, submarine tunnel for drawing cooling water from the sea and an indoor switchyard. The Madras station marks the coming of age of the Indian atomic energy programme, as full responsibility for the execution of the project, including design, construction, commissioning the operation rests with Indian engineers and scientists.
Narora Power Station:
The Fourth is the 2×235 MW reactors at Narora in Uttar Pradesh. The first unit of the country’s fifth twin unit PHWR station set up at Kakrapar has just attained critically.
Kaiga Power Station:
Work has been initiated recently by the newly formed Nuclear Power Corporation at a new site, Kaiga in Karnataka. The plant has been in operation since 2000 and is operated by Nuclear Power Corporation of India. It has four units with one still under construction. All of the four are small sized CANDU plants of 220 MW.
Kakrapar Atomic Power Station:
It has in Gujarat near Surat and consists of two 220 MW pressurized water reactors with heavy water as Moderator (PHWR). KAPS went critical as 3 September 1992 and began commercial electricity production in September 1985. In Jan. 2003, the CANDU Owners Group (COG) distinguished KAPS -1 as the world-wide best PHWR of its class.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India was established in 1989 to realise the target of generating 9000 MW of electricity
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