Kakrapar: India’s second domestically built 700 megawatt nuclear reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Gujarat began operating at full capacity on Wednesday, as announced by the plant operator.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) in a press release said, “The Unit 4 of Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS 4 – 700 MW) commenced operation at its full power of 700 MW today.”

KAPS-4 achieved its first criticality on December 17 last year and started commercial operations on March 31. The power level of the unit, which began commercial operation on March 31, was raised in accordance with the permissions from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). “The unit had been operating at 90% before raising it to full power,” NPCIL stated.

According to NPCIL, “The full power operation of KAPS-4 after the smooth operation of its twin unit KAPS-3 at full power demonstrates the strength of the first-of-a kind indigenous 700 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) design. Fourteen more reactors of the same design are at various stages of implementation and are expected to commence operations progressively by 2031-32.”

NPCIL currently operates 24 reactors with a combined capacity of 8,180 megawatts, with eight units totaling 6,800 megawatts under construction. Additionally, pre-project activities are underway for 10 more reactors with a total capacity of 7,000 megawatts, aiming to increase the nation’s installed nuclear power capacity to 22,480 megawatts by 2031-32. DeshGujarat