NEW DELHI: India is set to get its first nuclear power plant that will not be wholly owned by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), with Anushakti Vidhyut Nigam Ltd, a joint venture between NTPC and NPCIL, planning to set up a 2.8-GW project at Rajasthan’s Mahi Banswara.The state-run NPCIL currently owns the country’s entire 8.8-GW installed nuclear power capacity.The proposed project will also be the largest nuclear-island project under India’s indigenous reactor programme.Officials said the Rs 28,000 crore project covers the primary core infrastructure for four 700-MW pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) based on indigenously developed technology.It includes the nuclear building raft, reactor building internal structures, heavy-water upgrading plant, plant-water systems and waste-management facilities. The nuclear island houses the reactor and the systems required to produce steam and ensure safe plant operation.A senior official said a two-part comprehensive tender has already been floated covering engineering, manufacturing, supply, civil construction, installation, testing and commissioning assistance for critical nuclear-island systems for four 700-MWe PHWR units.The project assumes significance as govt plans to increase nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047 to strengthen energy security and support the transition away from fossil fuels.India’s current nuclear capacity of 8.8 GW, spread across 24 reactors at seven sites, accounts for a little over 3% of the country’s electricity generation. Ten more reactor units with a combined capacity of nearly 8 GW are under construction.Govt is also drafting rules under the SHANTI Act, enacted to facilitate private sector participation in nuclear power. Applications for licences from private entities will be considered only after the rules are notified.
