Monday, 22 September 2014

Nuclear power in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nuclear power in India is located in India
BARC
BARC
Kaiga
Kaiga
Kakrapar
Kakrapar
Madras
Madras
Koodankulam
Koodankulam
Narora
Narora
Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Tarapur
Tarapur
Jaitapur
Jaitapur
Atomic Power Stations in India (view)
Location dot red.svg Active plants
Location dot blue.svg Planned plants

Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity.[1] As of 2013, India has 21 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, having an installed capacity of 5308 MW[2][3] and producing a total of 30,292.91  GWh of electricity[4] while seven other reactors are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 6,100 MW.

In October 2010, India drew up "an ambitious plan to reach a nuclear power capacity of 63,000 MW in 2032",[5] but, after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, "populations around proposed Indian NPP sites have launched protests, raising questions about atomic energy as a clean and safe alternative to fossil fuels".[6] There have been mass protests against the French-backed 9900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Maharashtra and the Russian-backed 2000 MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu. The state government of West Bengal state has also refused permission to a proposed 6000 MW facility near the town of Haripur that intended to host six Russian reactors.[6] A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed against the government’s civil nuclear programme at the Supreme Court.[6][7]

Despite this opposition, the capacity factor of Indian reactors was at 79% in the year 2011-12 compared to 71% in 2010-11. Nine out of twenty Indian reactors recorded an unprecedented 97% Capacity factor during 2011-12. With the imported uranium from France, the 220 MW Kakrapar 2 PHWR reactors recorded 99% capacity factor during 2011-12. The Availability factor for the year 2011-12 was at 89%.

India has been making advances in the field of thorium-based fuels, working to design and develop a prototype for an atomic reactor using thorium and low-enriched uranium, a key part of India's three stage nuclear power programme.[8] The country has also recently re-initiated its involvement in the LENR research activities,[9] in addition to supporting work done in the fusion power area through the ITER initiative.
India's first research nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant were built with assistance from Canada.[10][11] The 40 MW research reactor agreement was signed in 1956, and CIRUS achieved first criticality in 1960. This reactor was supplied to India on the assurance that it would not be used for military purposes, but without effective safeguards against such use.[10][11] The agreement for India's first nuclear power plant at Rajasthan, RAPP-1, was signed in 1963, followed by RAPP-2 in 1966. These reactors contained rigid safeguards to ensure they would not be used for a military programme. The 200 MWe RAPP-1 reactor was based on the CANDU reactor at Douglas Point and began operation in 1972. Due to technical problems the reactor had to be downrated from 200 MW to 100 MW.[citation needed] The technical and design information were given free of charge by AECL to India.[citation needed] The United States and Canada terminated their assistance after the detonation of India's first nuclear explosion in 1974.

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