Even as new nuclear projects face tardy progress, the performance of existing atomic power stations has perked up to touch a six-year high in operational efficiency levels. This is largely due to uranium imports from Russia and France.
The capacity factor of the country's nuclear generation stations zoomed to nearly 80 per cent during the April-October period of this fiscal, with nearly half the fleet operating at close to 100 per cent due to improvement in fuel availability.
The sharp turnaround in atomic power generation, coming at a time when coal shortages are wrecking havoc with thermal generation, offers some respite for power distribution utilities across States.
The capacity factor of a power plant is the ratio of the actual output of a power plant over a period of time and its output, if operated at full potential, during the entire period.
Latest data show Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd's average capacity factor during 2011-12 (April-October) has improved to 78 per cent, up from 71 per cent in 2010-11, 61 per cent in 2009-10, 50 per cent in 2008-09, 53 per cent in 2007-08 and 64 per cent in 2006-07.
In all, there are 20 nuclear reactors being operated by state-owned NPCIL that add up to 4,780 MWe (mega watt electrical). Of these, currently 10 reactors are under international safeguards and thereby qualify for the use of imported uranium. Officials said all safeguarded reactors are currently running on imported uranium, which had made available domestic fuel for use in the remaining reactors.
Further boost
In the context of fuel imports improving overall operational efficiency, the possibilities of uranium imports from Australia could offer a further boost in the future, coming in the wake of assured commitments from Kazakhstan and Canada as well.
Nuclear fuel supplies from Areva of France are used for the RAPS (Rajasthan Atomic Power Station) units and supplies from Russia's state-owned nuclear fuel monopoly TVEL Corporation are being utilised at Tarapur.
Areva had, in December 2008, signed a pact to deliver 300 tonnes for India's existing Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors. TVEL Corporation has inked a deal for 2,000 tonnes of uranium pellets to India under the protocol on fuel supplies finalised with Russia.
Under the deal, TVEL is delivering low-enriched uranium supplies worth over $700 million to India, including uranium dioxide pellets for Tarapur.
The Department of Atomic Energy is in talks on uranium supplies with Canada, Kazakhstan and some African countries for imports in the future.
Under the ‘Separation Plan' announced by the Government in March 2006, negotiated pursuant to the July 2005 civil nuclear agreement with the US, India has to place a total of 14 reactors under IAEA safeguards by 2014 in a phased manner. Apart from the units under safeguards at present, other N-reactors that would come under IAEA safeguards include two units of Narora Atomic Power Station in 2014.
New projects hit
While existing atomic stations are seeing a turnaround in operational efficiency, there is mostly grim news with regard to the progress on new nuclear projects.
In the wake of the Fukushima incident in Japan, several nuclear projects, including the Kudankulam project in Tamil Nadu and the proposed Jaitapur project in Maharashtra, have run into rough weather as protesting locals and activists have stepped up agitations arguing that these plants could adversely impact safety of people.
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