NPCIL recommends 4 nuclear parks to generate 45000 mw

As Parliament kickstarts the process to amend the Atomic Energy Act to facilitate the Indo-US nuclear deal, the country's nuclear power manager, Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL, has recommended four "nuclear power parks" that will house 25 reactors capable of producing 45,000 mw of energy, through a public-private partnership.

Going by a conservative investment estimate of Rs 6 crore a mw, this will involve a gargantuan Rs 2,70,000-crore investment.

"In the existing scenario NPCIL can add a capacity of up to 15,000 mw through internal resources. The rest would have to be bridged by external players interested in nuclear power," said Dr S K Jain, chairman and managing director of NPCIL.

To start with, twin reactors at these four parks will be managed by NPCIL. Other players would them be allowed to set up reactors at the parks, said Jain, who is also president-designate of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

This recommendation, which has been forwarded to the government, will help the country reach its goal of 60,000 mw of nuclear energy in 25 years. It is expected that by that time nuclear power would account for 10 to 15 per cent of India's electricity needs, as against the current level of less than 3 per cent.

According to the plan, each of the power parks will house 6 to 8 reactors with a minimum capacity of 1,000 mw. Such parks are common in Japan, China, Canada and France, which alone has about 75 reactors. The advantage of these projects is that certain common facilities can be shared by the units.

A site selection committee of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has already recommended four sites for the projects in coastal areas of Saurashtra in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal, Jain said. Today, NPCIL has an installed capacity of 4120 mw from its 17 reactors and 2660 mw will come through new units being constructed at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan (2 units, 220 mw each), Kaiga in Karnataka (220 mw) and at Kudamkulam in Tamil Nadu (2 units, 1000 mw each).

During the 11th Plan period, NPCIL plans to add eight new pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWR) of 700 mw each, at existing locations, to optimise the infrastructure in place, Jain said. Viability hinges on the government's decision to open up the sector for private participation and the go-ahead to the Indo-US nuclear deal.