The government
has decided that the unit size of future nuclear power reactors
will be 700 MW instead of 220 MW and 540 MW as at present. Two
such units could be announced in the next two years for the
Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) says the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL).
The Corporation
has also begun adopting improved project implementation strategies
in a bid to reduce the construction period of atomic plants.
These include standardised plant design, mega-engineering, procurement
and construction packages, selection of sites having ready infrastructure,
modern techniques of construction, management and monitoring.
The corporation
applying this strategy hopes to cut-down the gestation period
of RAPP Unit 5 and 6 to about four-and-a-half years, from the
first pour of concrete to commercial operation. The excavation
work in case of these two units took only 9 months compared
to double the time taken for unit 3 and 4, because of novel
methods like rock blasting.
The reduced plant
gestation period will help cut down not only the project capital
cost, but also result in lower tariff for the power generated.
This also helps nuclear power to maintain its competitive edge
over other sources of electricity generation and improve its
economics.
