POWER: JAITAPUR N-PLANT STILL A LONG HAUL

DURING FRENCH PRESIDENT Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit, India and France signed an ‘Industrial Way Forward Agreement’ to construct the world's biggest nuclear project at Jaitapur, Maharashtra. Experts, however, say the real way forward is still miles away. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will set up six European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) of 10,000 megawatt (MW) with reactors supplied by French major Électricité de France (EDF) at the 900-plus hectare coastal area in Jaitapur. NPCIL, however, has only a capacity of 6,000 MW so far and EPR is still an unproven technology though these are third-generation reactors developed over a decade ago. Olkiluoto in Finland (1600 MW), Flamanville in France (1600 Mw), Taishan in China (2X1600 Mw) and a proposed project at Hinkley Point in UK (2 EPRs) are being built on this technology. However, none of the four sites are up and running yet. They are facing design issues, delays and cost escalation.