Trial run of India’s first 700 MW PHWR expected in 2017

Trial run of India’s first 700 MW PHWR expected in 2017 The trial run of India’s first 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor(PHWR) at Kakrapar, Gujarat, is expected to take placein middle of 2017. ii. India’s atomic power plant operator NPCIL is building four 700 MW PHWRs, two each at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) in Gujarat and Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) in

Rajasthan.  The construction of two 700 MW PHWRs at KAPS is at an advanced stage. The commissioning activities of the first unit have begun and the trial run of the first unit is expected to happen during the middle of 2017. Firstly the hydro test would be conducted in May-June 2017 followed by hot conditioning of the unit, which would happen around two-and-a-half months after the hydro test. After that the systems will be drained and dried. The fuel loading is expected to happen in October 2017 and the reactor’s criticality (first time starting of the nuclear fission process) is set to happen in November 2017. The unit is expected to start commercial operations early 2018. The project cost for the two 700 MW units is around Rs 11,500 crore. It is the biggest reactor being build by NPCIL which currently has been building 220 MW and 540 MW pressurised heavy water reactors.

Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL)

 The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is a public limited company under the Companies Act 1956, responsible for the generation of nuclear power for electricity

 Headquarter:  Mumbai.

Founded: September 1987