Seven units of four atomic power plants to start in 24 months time
New Delhi, May 17 (UNI) Seven units belonging to four Atomic Power Plants will start operation in the next two years, the Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan told Lok Sabha today.
In a written reply, Mr Chavan said 540 MWe will be obtained from the third Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) unit of Tarapur Power Statino in Maharashtra, which will start operation during this year. The 2x 220 PHWR of third unit of Kaiga Atomic Power Project in Karnataka will start by March 2007 while its fourth unit will be ready by September 2007.
Unit one of 2 x 1000 Light Water Reactors (LWRs) of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu will go critical in December 2007 and unit 2 by December 2008. The 2x 220 PHWRs fifth and sixth units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant will be operational by August 2007 and February 2008 respectively, he added.
The Minister said apart from this a 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is also under construction at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu. This unit is scheduled to start commercial operation by March 2011.
The current generation of electricity from Nuclear Power Stations is about 50 Million Units per day, he said.
The Government intends to increase the installed Nuclear power capacity to about 20,000 MWe by the year 2020. Its recent initiatives may open up the possibility of setting up of additional capacity based on imports. The participation of private sector for setting up of additional nuclear power plants is also being considered. However, no final decision has yet been taken in this regard, the Minister said.
Mr Chavan said the nuclear material required for medical and other uses is distinct from the fuel for the power reactors.
There is no proposal at present for setting up of a 2000 MWe nuclear power plant in Madhya Pradesh. However, the sites in the state will be considered for setting up of a nuclear power plant at a later date, depending on the nuclear power programme and other energy options available in the region. Madhya Pradesh has a share of power from the nuclear power stations in operation in the Western Region and shall also have a share from those under construction/planned in the region, Mr Chavan said.
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