Rajastan Atomic Power Project

The Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS; also ''Rajasthan Atomic Power Project'' - RAPP) is a nuclear power plant located at Rawatbhata in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the third largest nuclear power plant in the country after the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant and Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in terms of installed capacity.

History

The construction of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) began in 1963 with two CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) capable of producing 220  MW of electricity each. Ten years later, in 1973 RAPS-1 was put into service. In 1974 after India conducted Smiling Buddha, its first nuclear weapons test, Canada stopped its support of the project, delaying the commissioning of RAPS-2 until 1981.

Unit 1:In the early 1960s, Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and Canada's Atomic Energy of Canada limited AECL signed and MoU to build two reactors of 200 MW each. Construction began in 1963 and of unit 1 was achieved oprations in 1973. Since the beginning, it faced several technical issues such as cracks in the end shields, leak of the moderated, rupture of fuel channel, etc. To alleviate these issues it was derated to 100MWe. The issues continued to occur. The unit has low capacity factor, low availability and caused economic lossee. Due to these issues and safety concerns, it was put in a permanent shutdown in October 2004.

Unit 2: When India conducted the 1974 Nuclear tests at Pokhran in Rajasthan, Canada withdrew from the project, leaving the DAE alone to develop the second reactor. Learning lessons from unit 1, and with help of other industries such as Bharat heavy electricals limited BHEL the reactor was completed and put into operation in 1981. It worked much well than unit 1 and is currently operational.

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.

One of the new Indian-designed 700 MWe series of the reactor (RAPP-7) is under construction in Rajasthan. One (RAPP-8) was recently commissioned in April 2025.

In November 2012, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) intensively audited over several weeks two reactors at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station for safety. It has been concluded that the reactors are among the best in the world, the indigenously made 220 MW atomic plants can withstand a Fukushima type of accident, even suggesting that the "safety culture is strong in India" and that India emerged a winner with a high global safety rank.

First concrete for unit 7 was poured on 18 July 2011, with commercial operation expected by 2016. First concrete for unit 8 was poured on 30 September 2011.
Unit 7 and unit 8 will cost together an estimated Rs 123.2 billion (US$2.6 billion).

In 2024 the AERB granted permission for unit 7 fuel loading and addition of moderator. The 19 September 2024, unit 7 started a controlled fission chain reaction.

In March 2025 unit 7 at Rajasthan power plant was connected to the grid. It is the 3rd 700 MWe indigenous pressurized heavy water reactor connected to the grid.

Incidents

By 2003 RAPS-1 had experienced numerous problems due to leaks, cracks in the end-shield and turbine blade failures, had undergone repairs and appeared to be generating 100 MW of electricity, with RAPS-2 reportedly generating 200 MW. Unit 1, due to its issues, technical and economic unviability, was decided to place into a permanent shutdown state in October 2004. It is the only unit owned by the Department of Atomic Energy.

On 29 August 2006, a 90% iron meteorite weighing fell in Kanvarpura village, near the power station. The Deputy Director-General (western region) of the Geological Survey of India, R.S. Goyal, said that devastation on an "unimaginable scale" would have ensued had the object struck the station. However, the kinetic energy of a meteorite of this size is smaller than that of jet aircraft frequently used as a basis for impact resistance of containment structures.

In June 2012, 38 workers were exposed to tritium when a welding operation went wrong inside the protected environment of the reactor.

Units

Current status

Unit 1 was placed under permanent shutdown and is to be decommissioned. Units 2 through 6 are currently operational.

Unit 7 achieved criticality on 19 September 2024. On 17 March 2025, RAPS 7 was connected to the grid for the first time. This step was taken after clearance from the AERB. It came online for commercial operation on 15 April 2025

See also

*Nuclear power in India

References

External links

''Juggernaut''
a 1968 Canadian documentary on the delivery of the plant's calandria.

{{Authority control

Nuclear power stations in Rajasthan
Nuclear power stations using CANDU reactors
Nuclear power stations with reactors under construction
Buildings and structures in Chittorgarh district
Buildings and structures in Kota, Rajasthan
Canada–India relations
1973 establishments in Rajasthan