Rajastan Atomic Power Project
Encyclopedia
The Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS; also Rajasthan Atomic Power Project - RAPP) in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 is located about 65 kilometres (40.4 mi) from Kota
Kota, Rajasthan
Kota , formerly known as Kotah, is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located south of state capital, Jaipur. Situated on the banks of Chambal River, the city is the trade centre for an area in which millet, wheat, rice, pulses, coriander and oilseeds are grown; industries...

 by way of the Chambal River
Chambal River
The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in central India, and forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system. The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning...

, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) above the dam that holds the Rana Pratap Sagar lake. The plant lies in the Federal State Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, district Chittorgarh
Chittorgarh
Chittorgarh is a city and a municipality in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgharh District and a former capital of the Sisodia clans of Rajputs of Mewar...

. The next locale is Tamlao, Rawatbhata
Rawatbhata
Rawatbhata is a town and a municipality in Chittorgarh district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is 50 km from the nearest city Kota. Rawatbhata is connected to the major routes in country through Kota .-Geography:...

 is approx. 11 kilometers far away, which is where the plant is located. In Kota a factory for heavy water operated in the 1980s.

The Douglas Point
Douglas Point
The Douglas Point Nuclear Generating Station was Canada’s first full-scale nuclear power plant and the second CANDU Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor....

 reactor in Canada was begun in 1961, a duplicate station at Rajasthan, was committed in 1963. The Rajasthan Power Project (RAPP) included two 220 MWe CANDU reactors built in the state of Rajasthan and put into service, respectively, in 1973 and 1981. Indian tradesmen and professional engineers came to be trained at Douglas Point. After the nuclear bomb test explosion in 1973 the nuclear trade links between Canada and India were curtailed and the second RAPP reactor was completed by the Indians with no Canadian assistance.

After many incidents and repairs RAPS-1 has now a 100 MW capacity, RAPS-2 at 200 MW.

In the context of the Indian atomic program, two more PHWR with an output of 220 MW each were built. They cost around 570 million dollars. RAPS-3 became critical on 24 December 1999, RAPS-4 became critical on 3 November 2000. Commercial operations began on 1 June 2000 for unit 3, and on 23 December 2000 for unit 4.

Two more reactors (RAPS-5 and RAPS-6) with 220 MWe have also been built, with unit 5 beginning commercial operation on 4 February 2010, and unit 6 on 31 March 2010.

Two of the new Indian-designed 700 MWe series of reactor (RAPP-7 and RAPP-8) are under construction at Rajasthan.
First concrete for unit 7 was poured on 18 July 2011,
with commercial operation expected by 2016.
The two reactors will cost an estimated Rs 123.2 billion (US$2.6 billion).

Units

Unit Type Net MW Gross MW Construction Date of Criticality Commercial operation Shut down
 Rajasthan−1  CANDU
CANDU reactor
The CANDU reactor is a Canadian-invented, pressurized heavy water reactor. The acronym refers to its deuterium-oxide moderator and its use of uranium fuel...

 
  90 MW 100 MW 01.08.1965 – 30.11.1972 11.08.1973 16.12.1973
Rajasthan−2 PHWR  187 MW 200 MW 01.04.1968 – 01.11.1980 May 1981 01.04.1981
Rajasthan−3 PHWR  202 MW 220 MW 01.02.1990 – 10.03.2000 01.06.2000
Rajasthan−4 PHWR  202 MW 220 MW 01.10.1990 – 17.11.2000 23.12.2000
Rajasthan−5 PHWR  202 MW 220 MW 18.09.2002 – 24.11.2009 04.02.2010
Rajasthan−6 PHWR  202 MW 220 MW 20.01.2003 – 31.03.2010
Rajasthan−7 PHWR  630 MW 700 MW 18.07.2011
Rajasthan−8 PHWR  630 MW 700 MW

External links

  • Juggernaut, a 1968 Canadian documentary on the delivery of the plant's calandria
    Calandria
    A calandria is the reactor core of the CANDU reactor. The calandria contains heavy water, a moderator used to moderate neutrons to achieve nuclear fission....

    .
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