NPCIL to build four more atomic power units in 2020, says AEC chief

India’s atomic power plants operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) plans to start construction of four more nuclear power units this year, said a top official of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

He said two units of 700 MW will be in Haryana and two 1,000 MW units in Tamil Nadu and added that the first indigenous 700 MW reactor is expected to start full power operation towards the later half of the year.

Looking at the year 2020-21 for the country’s atomic power sector K.N.Vyas, Chairman, AEC, told IANS: “In respect of projects implementation, the first indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS-Unit 3) in Gujarat achieved its first criticality (controlled self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reaction) on 22nd July.”