New Delhi: The foundation stone laying ceremony of the 2800 MWe nuclear power plant at Rajasthan’s Mahi Banswara by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week will mark the entry of state-owned NTPC, one of India’s largest integrated power companies, into the nuclear power sector.
A joint venture between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and NTPC Limited, the Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Plant will have four indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MWe each. NTPC has a 49 percent stake in the joint venture.
The plant will come up on a little over 1,300 acres on the right bank of Mahi river, upstream of Mahi Bajaj Sagar dam. The estimated cost of the project, which is safeguarded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is Rs 42,000 crore.
Once completed, it will be the second nuclear power plant in the state after the 2580 MWe Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) at Rawatbhata. Seven of the eight units of RAPP with an installed capacity of 1880 MWe have already been commissioned. An eight unit of 700 MWe is under construction.
A senior power ministry official told ThePrint that once work starts on the Mahi Banswara nuclear power project, it will take six-and-a-half years to complete.
About NTPC’s foray into the nuclear power sector, the official said, “NTPC believes in sustainability…Nuclear is the future of energy. With our energy demand growing, renewable (energy) is not enough to meet the requirement.”
India’s nuclear power capacity at present is a minuscule 8180 MW as compared to the total power demand of 2,29,715 MW in August, as per National Load Despatch Centre data.
Govt’s big nuclear push
The government has set an ambitious target of 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047.
Currently, NPCIL operates all 24 commercial nuclear power reactors in the country with an installed capacity of 8,180 MW. The reactor fleet comprises two Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs), 20 Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) including one 100 MW PHWR in Rajasthan, owned by the Department of Atomic Energy, and two Water-Water Power Reactors (VVERs) of 1000 MW capacity each.
The government has also initiated steps to increase nuclear power capacity from the current 8,180 MW to 22,480 MW by 2031-32. These include the construction and commissioning of ten reactors, totalling 8,000 MW, across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.
Besides, pre-project activities for ten more reactors have commenced, with plans for progressive completion by 2031-32.
India has also accorded in-principle approval to set up a 6 x 1208 MW nuclear power plant in cooperation with the US at Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district.
Recognising nuclear power as a critical component for achieving energy security and sustainability, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the Nuclear Energy Mission in the 2025-26 budget. It envisages enhancing domestic nuclear capabilities, promoting private sector participation, and accelerating the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies such as Small Modular Reactors.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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