The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) will start operating 1,000 MW of new capacity at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu “within the next few days,” Mr V. Narayanasamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, said.

“We are expecting the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) clearance to load fuel into the reactor in the next 20-30 days, after which the reactor will start operations,” Mr Narayanasamy told reporters at an industry event here.

Work on the project was suspended from September 2011 to March 19, 2012 due to protests. The first reactor of 1,000 MW is targeted to start commercial operation from August and another 1,000 MW would be operational by March 2013, according to NPCIL Web site. The Kudankulam nuclear power project is a collaboration between India and Russia.

CAPACITY ADDITION

The completion of the project will take India's installed nuclear power capacity to 6,780 MW from 4,780 MW now, which is 2.4 per cent of the total installed capacity in the country. Currently, the 19 operational nuclear plants produced 32,455 million units of electricity in 2011-12.

“India targets to have 63,000 MW of installed nuclear power by 2032,” Mr Narayanasamy said. At present, there are seven nuclear power reactors under various stages of construction. After completion of these projects, India's nuclear power capacity would touch 10,080 MW by 2017. Mr Narayanasamy said following the Fukushima accident in Japan in 2011, six task forces of NPCIL and one committee from AERB reviewed the safety of all nuclear power plants in operation and under construction in India. “These reviews have found them to be safe against extreme natural events such as earthquake and tsunami,” he added.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Mr Narayanasamy said that India should encourage foreign investments to meet generation target in nuclear sector. Currently, India does not allow FDI in nuclear sector. At the same time, all projects are commissioned by public sector NPCIL.

>siddhartha.s@thehindu.co.in

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