According to India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India’s nuclear program officially switched from building smaller (230 MW) to a larger (700 MW) Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) when the first 700 MW reactor of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station KAPP-3 (the other two are of smaller variety), in the western state of Gujarat, was connected to the grid on Jan 19. According to K.N. Vyas, India’s atomic energy secretary, KAPP-3 is the first of 16 planned 700 MW units that will help balance the grid against growing intermittent renewable generation.
Nuclear Power Corp. of India Ltd. (NPCIL), which connected the KAPP-3 to the grid, expects to start five more units through March 2027, and is placing orders for another ten to be commissioned by 2031. The combined cost of the fleet is estimated at about 1.5 trillion rupees ($20.4 billion), according to the state monopoly, Bloomberg reported. So far, domestically built reactors have avoided cost run-ups that have hit projects planned with overseas technologies, said Debasish Mishra, a Mumbai-based partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
