NPCIL to add 1,400 MW nuclear power capacity this year, says CMD Bhuwan Chandra Pathak

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India is expected to add 1,400 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power in 2025, the largest such capacity addition in a year in the country, National Nuclear Power Corporation of India chairman and managing director Bhuwan Chandra Pathak said on March 17.

Moneycontrol spoke to Pathak within hours of commissioning of a 700 MW home-built pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) in Rawatbhata. The next reactor, RAPP-8, is expected to begin commercial operations by the end of the year, he said.

“RAPP-7, the 700 MW capacity indigenous PHWR type reactor at Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, has been synchronised to the grid at 2.37 am of March 17, 2025, after complying with all pre-requisites including those stipulated by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB),” Pathak told Moneycontrol.

“The power level of the unit will be increased in steps to full power, in line with the regulatory clearances. It is a milestone achieved under the National Nuclear Energy Mission.”

The two reactors will take India's total nuclear power capacity to 9,580 MW from the current 8,180 MW. With RAPP-7 now commissioned, the capacity has grown to 8,880 MW.

"If all goes well, we are confident of achieving grid synchronisation for RAPP-8 as well by the end of 2025," Pathak said.

RAPP-7 and 8 are the third and fourth reactors of the 700 MW series of 16 indigenous PHWRs being set up in the country.  These India-made reactors have advanced safety features and are among the safest in the world, Pathak said.

India's nuclear capacity will touch 22 gigawatts (GW) by 2031-32 once all 16 reactors are commissioned. The country, however, is still some distance away from its target of 100 GW by 2047.

Also read: Business barons go nuclear in the race for power.

Power play

NPCIL, a public sector undertaking (PSU) under the atomic energy ministry, is the only company which builds, owns and maintains nuclear power plants in India as it is a regulated sector.

In the Budget, presented on February 1, the government announced a National Nuclear Energy Mission to build a capacity of 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2047.

To achieve this, NPCIL has set a target of 50 GW of nuclear capacity on its own. Of the remaining 50 GW, nearly 30 GW is expected to come from NTPC Ltd, a PSU under the power ministry and the rest from the private sector and state power generation companies.

The indigenous 700 MW PHWRs will be a significant component of India's 100 GW target, Pathak said. “A typical 700 MW reactor would generate about 5.2 billion units of clean electricity (at 85 percent plant load factor) per annum thereby averting about 4.5 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually,” he said.

Also Read: Nuclear Power: How NTPC may steal a march over its competitors.

Rawatbhata already has six units with a total capacity of 1,180 MW. Once RAPP-7 goes full throttle, Rawatbhata’s installed capacity site will increase to 2,580 MW.

“With this, NPCIL now operates 25 reactors with a total capacity of 8,880 MW. In addition to 13,100 MW capacity under implementation, more reactors are also planned to be launched by NPCIL in the future, in its effort to contribute about half of the 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047 announced in the Nuclear Energy Mission,” Pathak said.

Nuclear power is not renewable energy but is a zero-emission clean energy source. It generates power through fission, which is the process of splitting uranium atoms to produce energy. The heat released is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity without the harmful by-products emitted by fossil fuels.

The PHWR technology uses natural uranium, heavy water coolant, and a horizontal cylindrical vessel called a calandria to produce nuclear energy.

India is turning to nuclear energy as it cannot solely rely on renewable energy to achieve its net zero target by 2047. Renewable energy is intermittent in the absence of affordable storage solutions. Nuclear energy can help meet India's growing power demand.