At a glance

In our previous blogs, we have studied hydropower plants and steam power plants in detail; from now on, we will focus on the nuclear power plant. nuclear power plant in India (2021), upcoming nuclear power plant in India, how many nuclear power plants are in India, largest nuclear power plant in India by capacity.

The nuclear power plant is also a thermal power plant where the heat is generated by a nuclear reactor. So that is why this plant is known as a nuclear power plant.

The nuclear power plant reactor works on the principle of fission, where uranium atoms or the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more nuclei in this process. This process generates lots of energy which can be further useful for power generation. Still, about that part, we will discuss it in our upcoming blogs.

Energy obtained by completely burning 1 kg of uranium would give energy equivalent to 3000 tons of high-grade coal. So if we estimate it roughly and put it in words, then uranium has 3 million times the energy of coal.

The need for nuclear power plants lies in the hunger for electricity is virtually unending. After each decade, the world demand for electricity doubled due to a booming increase in the population and industrial growth.

Moreover, the reserves of fossil fuels, i.e., coal, oil, gas, are fast depleting. Thus, there is a tendency to seek alternative sources that can meet the future energy demands of the world. One of its main attractions is the huge amount of energy released from a small quantity of active material.

According to the study by the government of India conducted in 1984 for examining comparative costs of nuclear and thermal power plants commissioned in 1983, nuclear power would be cheaper by 8 to 10 paise/Kwh from thermal power plants to the distance of 800km from pitheads.

nuclear power plant in India (2021)

Here is the list of the nuclear power plant in India that is operational till 2021

All the power plants are operated by the authorities of NPCL, which stands for Nuclear Power Corporation of India.

IPHWR- it stands for Indian Pressurized Heavy Water reactor220. the reactor is designed by the Bhabha automic research center. Originated in India.

IPHWR had differently sized units such as 220MW, 540MW, 700MW.

VVER– water-water energetic reactor also known as WWER. It is basically a series of pressurized water reactors. These reactors are originally developed in the Soviet Union.

 CANDU- Canada Deuterium Uranium. It is a Canadian pressurized heavy water reactor.

The acronym of reactor refers to its deuterium oxide means heavy water moderator. In these reactors, uranium is used as fuel. CANDU reactors were developed in the late 1950s by the atomic energy of Canada Limited (AECL).

 BWR– stands for boiling water reactor. It is a type of light water reactor. A boiling water reactor uses dematerialized water as a coolant and neutron moderators.

This is just an overview of reactors used in Indian nuclear power plants. We will then study in detail in our upcoming blogs.

upcoming nuclear power plant in India

The below table shows nuclear power plants in India that are under construction.

These are the planned projects for a nuclear power plant in India

how many nuclear power plants are in India

Until 2020 India has 23 operational reactors of 7 power plants, with an installed capacity of 7480MW. This power plant contributes 3.11% of the total electricity generated in India.

 The nuclear energy program of India was started by Dr. Homi Bhabha.

largest nuclear power plant in India by capacity

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is India’s largest nuclear power plant, situated in Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

The total installed capacity of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is 2000MW.

In our next blog, we will discuss nuclear power plants more thoroughly.