Kaiga nuclear power plant to begin supplying power by March-end

In a major milestone in India’s nuclear power generation, the third reactor of Kaiga Atomic Power Station near Karwar in Karnataka achieved its first self-sustained thermonuclear reaction on Monday, paving the way for supplying power to southern grid by March-end.

Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar and Chairman of Nuclear Power Corporation of India S K Jain witnessed the first criticality of the Atomic Power Station.

The construction of 220 MW unit had begun in March 2002 and had been completed in a record time of less than five years, braving all adverse climatic conditions, remarked Kakodkar. “Five years is the international benchmark for completing nuclear power plants”, he said.

The plant is located at Kaiga, a remote area of Karnataka, about 55 kms from the port City of Karwar. The area faces heavy rainfall, which had forced the disruption of the construction activity for several months.

The first and second reactor of Kaiga Atomic Power Station had been commissioned in 1999 and 2000 respectively. The fourth reactor is scheduled for commissioning later this year.

S K Jain said the major beneficiaries of the power generated from the Kaiga Atomic Power Station will be Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala.

Jain also told reporters that Nuclear Power Corporation of India is planning to construct eight 700 MW units and ten 1,000 MW units in the next five years. With the country’s nuclear power capacity expected to multiply, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India was looking at generating 65,000 MW by 2032, he added.