20 Nuclear Power Plants To Be Commissioned By 2031, Will Add 16 GW Generation Capacity

India plans to commission 20 nuclear power plants by 2031, the government told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Replying to a query in Lok Sabha, Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh said that these 20 plants will add 15.7 GW in power generating capacity.

The first of these 20 nuclear power plants, a 700 MW unit at Kakrapar in Gujarat is expected to be commissioned by 2023. At present, Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP) Units 1, 2 of 700 MW capacity each are already in operation.

Unit 3 of the Kakrapar is expected to commence commercial operation by December 2022 after obtaining stage-wise regulatory clearances.

India's first Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor of 500 MW at Kalpakkam near Chennai is in final stages and will be “commissioned and operationalised” by 2024. The project has already achieved a physical progress of 97.64 per cent as on October 2022.

This will be followed by likely completion of two 1,000 MW units at Kudankulam by 2025.

The projected installed capacity of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is 6,000 MW, comprising of six nuclear power reactors of 1,000 MW capacity each.

The first two units i.e., KKNPP-1 and 2 (2X1000 MW) is in operation and the remaining four units i.e., KKNPP-3 and 4 (2X1000 MW) and KKNPP-5 and 6 (2X1000 MW) are under construction.

Unit 7 and 8 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) with a total capacity of 1,400 MW are likely to be completed by 2026, while KKNPP Unit 5 and 6 of 1,000 MW each are likely to be completed by 2027.

The RAPP located in Rawatbhata in Rajasthan, currently has six units, operating with a total installed capacity of 1,180 MW.

Unit 1 and 2 of the Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna (GHAVP) is expected to be completed by 2029.

Located at Gorakhpur, in Fatehabad district, Haryana, the project is planned to be to be developed with four 700 MW units. The Unit 1 and 2 of GHAVP, is under construction with all foundation piles completed and purchase orders for major packages being placed.

In addition, government had accorded administrative approvals and financial sanctions for building 10 atomic power units of 700 MW.

These include Unit 3 and 4 of GHAVP, Unit 5 and 6 of Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) at Kaiga in Karnataka, two units of Chutka Nuclear Power in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh and four units of Mahi-Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (MBRAPP) in Banswara district of Rajasthan.

These 10 nuclear power units are likely to be completed progressively by 2031, Singh said.