Delhi may get a nuclear plant soon?
26 Oct 2012 5:03 AM IST
Amid a raging debate on atomic energy, scientists are busy designing nuclear reactors that can be located in the heart of the city and construction on which may begin within the next five years.
The much-delayed 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which has been on the design table for nearly a decade, has several in-built safety features that would allow the power plant to be located even in densely populated areas.
‘The AHWR has a number of in-built safety features that would require very little exclusion zone and can be built right in the heart of the city,’ Shiv Abhilash Bhardwaj, Director (Technical), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said.
He said the construction of the AHWR was expected to start during the 12th Plan period.
The safety features in its design would enable meeting next generation safety requirements such as three days grace period for operator response, elimination of the need for exclusion zone beyond the plant boundary, hundred year design life and high level of fault tolerance, officials said.
The AHWR also has high level of fault tolerance and provides for a much greater immunity even from insider threat.
A site for building the AHWR, designed by a team of nuclear scientists led by former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and incumbent Ratan Kumar Sinha, is yet to be finalised. The AHWR uses thorium as fuel.
The much-delayed 300 MW Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which has been on the design table for nearly a decade, has several in-built safety features that would allow the power plant to be located even in densely populated areas.
‘The AHWR has a number of in-built safety features that would require very little exclusion zone and can be built right in the heart of the city,’ Shiv Abhilash Bhardwaj, Director (Technical), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said.
He said the construction of the AHWR was expected to start during the 12th Plan period.
The safety features in its design would enable meeting next generation safety requirements such as three days grace period for operator response, elimination of the need for exclusion zone beyond the plant boundary, hundred year design life and high level of fault tolerance, officials said.
The AHWR also has high level of fault tolerance and provides for a much greater immunity even from insider threat.
A site for building the AHWR, designed by a team of nuclear scientists led by former Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar and incumbent Ratan Kumar Sinha, is yet to be finalised. The AHWR uses thorium as fuel.
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