NPCIL’s second pair of indigenously designed 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) – RAPP-7&8 (Rajasthan Atomic Power Project- 7&8) – achieved first pour of concrete July 18 at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan.
The First Pour of Concrete (FPC) is an important milestone in the construction of a nuclear power project and signifies the start of the construction (zero date). The reactors are scheduled to be completed in the year 2016-17. On their completion, 1400 MW capacity will be added to the Northern Electricity Grid, of which 700 MW will be allocated to the state of Rajasthan.
The indigenously designed 700-MW PHWR is the latest, state-of-art-technology nuclear power reactor, which has been designed by NPCIL by scaling up its 540-MW PHWRs (TAPS-3&4) that are under successful operation at Tarapur in Maharashtra since 2005. Two more 700-MW PHWRs are also under construction at Kakrapar in Gujarat.
The 700-MW PHWRs have advanced safety features, including passive safety systems that work on natural principles like gravity, natural convection, etc. and do not need operator intervention or motive power to ensure reactor safety under any state of operation.
There are two independent and diverse systems to shut down the reactor, a ‘Passive Decay Heat Removal System’ to ensure cooling of the reactor core even in conditions of total loss of power, and steel-lined inner containment to contain the entire radioactivity within the reactor building even in a severe accident scenario.
Currently, there are 20 nuclear power reactors with a capacity of 4780 MW in operation and 7 reactors with a capacity of 5300 MW under construction in the country. On progressive completion of these reactors, the installed nuclear power capacity will reach 10080 MW by the year 2017. More reactors are planned to take the installed capacity to 20000 MW or more by the year 2020.
NPCIL has an excellent safety record of over 340 reactor-years and will pursue the country’s nuclear power programme with enhanced emphasis on safety to set higher benchmarks.
