The Ukraine conflict has impacted the schedule of some nuclear power projects like the Kudankulam nuclear plant, Parliament was informed.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha on the status of various nuclear power projects under construction, atomic energy minister Jitendra Singh, while citing several reasons for delay, said, “In respect of projects being implemented in cooperation with the Russian Federation, the schedule is also impacted by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
The Kudankulam N-plant in Tamil Nadu is being constructed with Russian technology and critical nuclear equipment is being supplied by state-run Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom. While its unit 1 and 2 of 1,000 MW capacity each are already operational. four more units (3, 4, 5 and 6) are being constructed with Russian help.
On the status of other nuclear projects, the minister said, “There are 11 reactors under construction or commissioning at various stages, including KAPP-3 which is already connected to the grid and PFBR being implemented by BHAVINI, with a total capacity of 8,700 MW. In addition, the government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for 10 reactors with a capacity of 7,000 MW which are under pre-project activities.”
“While the work on the projects is in full swing, delays have been experienced in project execution due to factors like delay in supply of critical equipment by domestic industries, financial crunch or cash flow problems of contractors, shortage of skilled contractor manpower, restrictions during the pandemic and implementation of recommended design changes following the Fukushima incident,” he said.
The minister also said the progress of the 500 MW prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) project at Kalpakkam near Chennai is 97.64 per cent while the construction status of Gujarat’s Kakrapar units 3 and 4 is also nearly 97 per cent complete.
The PM, in his statement at COP26 Summit held in Glasgow, had stated that India will take its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030, Singh said.
