India's First Indigenous 700 MW Nuclear Power Reactor Begins Commercial Operations

India's first domestically developed 700 MW nuclear power reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP) in Gujarat commenced commercial operations on 30 June, as confirmed by a senior KAPP official to news agency PTI.

KAPP-3 is a first-of-its-kind indigenous 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) — designed by Indian scientists and engineers, its components and equipment manufactured by Indian industry, and the construction and erection undertaken by Indian contractors, as tweeted by the Department of Atomic Energy.

KAPP-3 achieved its first criticality — a controlled, self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction for the first time — on the morning of 22 July 2020.

Currently, the KAPP-3 unit is operating at 90 per cent of its total power capacity.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is constructing two 700 MW PHWRs at Kakrapar, which is also home to two 220 MW power plants.

At KAPP-4, various commissioning activities are in progress, with a reported achievement of 96.92 per cent by the end of May, according to officials.

The NPCIL has approved the construction of 16 700 MW PHWRs throughout the country. This includes both the financial and administrative sanctions for the project.

Currently, the construction of 700 MW nuclear power plants is in progress at two locations: Rawatbhata in Rajasthan (RAPS 7 and 8) and Gorakhpur in Haryana (GHAVP 1 and 2).

In order to boost indigenous development, the government has given the green light for the construction of 10 PHWRs. These will be built in fleet mode at four different locations: Gorakhpur in Haryana, Chutka in Madhya Pradesh, Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan, and Kaiga in Karnataka.