Union Minister of State For Atomic Energy Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday (28 July) said that the government has planned to commission more nuclear power plants for power generation.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Singh said that at present, there are 22 nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 6,780 MW in operation and one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has been connected to the grid on 10 January 2021.
In addition, there are ten reactors (including 500 MW PFBR being implemented by BHAVINI) totalling to 8,000 MW under construction at various stages, the minister said.
The government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of ten indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode.
“On progressive completion of the projects under construction and accorded sanction, the nuclear capacity is expected to reach 22,480 MW by 2031. More nuclear power plants are also planned in future,” Singh said.
“Highest priority is accorded to safety in all aspects of nuclear power viz. siting, design, construction, commissioning, and operation. Nuclear power plants are designed adopting safety principles of redundancy, diversity and provide fail-safe design features following a defence-in-depth approach,” he said in response to a question on whether proper safeguards are in place in the nuclear power plants.
This ensures that there are multiple barriers between the source of radioactivity and the environment, Singh added.
The operations are performed adopting well laid out procedures by highly qualified, trained and licensed personnel. Appropriate Personal Protection Equipment and monitoring aids are provided to all the personnel working in the nuclear power plants, he said.