PM dedicates TAPS 3

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News


Mumbai, Aug 31: Promising a boost to the national civil nuclear programme, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dedicated India's two highly efficient nuclear power generating units with a capacity of 540 MWe each, Unit 3 and 4 of Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS), to the nation.

Dedicating the largest nuclear power plants to the service of the people of the country, the Prime Minister said, ''India can do it, despite many, many hurdles. And, it holds significance for having self-reliant energy and economy.'' Pointing out that for the sustainability of long-term economic growth was critically dependent on the ability to meet our future energy requirement, he said, ''When a country of the size of India begins to grow at the rate of nine per cent per annum with the prospect of even higher rates of growth, energy becomes a critical issue.'' He further reminded that starting from a humble beginning in the sixties, the country was today having seventeen full functional power reactors and it had developed state-of-the-art facilities. ''As we move forward on development of fast breeder reactors (FBR) and thorium reactors, I have no doubt that we would in the future exercise global leadership in this technology,'' Dr Singh stressed.

Indigenously developed TAPS-3&4 are Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), which come under the stage-1 of the national three stage nuclear energy programme.

TAPS-3 started its commercial operation in the month of August last year and TAPS-4 started its commercial operation in September 2005 and both were now fully dedicated to the nation, which had contributed a cumulative power generation of 7475, MUs, till July 2007, to the power grids for the commercial use.

Both the units were built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), the flagship public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as both coolant and moderator.

Tarapur was the place where India's first nuclear power reactor was developed with the cooperation of US which became operational in 1969. Passing through many ups and downs, now it has all the four functional units, generating 1400 MWe, and one reprocessing unit associated with the civil nuclear power programme.


UNI

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