Mumbai: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) on Saturday commenced initial fuel loading of the 700MWe Rajasthan Atomic Power Stations units RAPP-7 and RAPP-8 at Rawatbhata, marking a significant milestone in India’s nuclear power programme.RAPP-7 and RAPP-7 are indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors.The fuel loading process began after receiving clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board following rigorous safety evaluations, major system integrity audits and site readiness reviews.With the commencement of the initial fuel loading, unit 8 has entered an important stage of its commissioning journey, stated NPCIL. The next major steps will include what is known as the “first approach to criticality”, marking the start of controlled fission chain reaction, followed by the commencement of power generation.RAPP-8, which is the fourth reactor in the series of sixteen indigenous 700 MWe PHWRs being set up in the country, is expected to commence commercial operation this financial year.NPCIL operates 24 nuclear power reactors totalling to a capacity of 8.78 GWe and has 17 nuclear power reactors, totalling to about 13 GWe, under various stages of implementation.
