KAPP-3, the indigenous single largest nuclear reactor in the country on July 22, 2020 attained first criticality-initiation of the self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction inside the reactor’s core.
The criticality was achieved at the country’s first 700-MW power plant at Kakrapar atomic power station (KAPP) in Gujarat.
Basic facts
KAPP-3&4 is the first ignominiously built unit of pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) of 2✕700 MW electric power generation capacity.
The Kakrapar site is situated on the left bank of the river Tapi in the Mandvi taluka of Surat District of the Gujarat state. The site is about 86 km away by road east of Surat.
With the criticality achieved successfully, the N-power company will conduct few other tests and progressively increase the plant’s output, before it is connected to the grid.
It took 10 long years for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) to complete the project whose construction began in November 2010.
Besides two 540 MW units at Tarapur, majority of the Indian nuclear power reactors are pressurised heavy water reactors of 220 MW capacity.
There are two 1000 MW Russian light-water units at Kudankulam, two old 160 MW boiling water reactors at Tarapur and a 200-MW unit at Rawtbhatta.
(Source: DH and NPCIL)
CLICK HERE FOR UPSC, BPSC, UPPCS, JPSC, MPPSC, RPSC PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ
CLICK HERE FOR UPSC PRELIMS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ
