India Aims for 20,000 Megawatts of Installed Nuclear Capacity by 2020

BANGALORE, INDIA--July 8, 2008--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After the anticipated commissioning in 2010 of the 500-megawatt (MW) prototype fast breeder reactor (FBR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, India plans to build a cluster of 1,000-MW FBRs. The prototype FBR is currently in an advanced stage of construction, having recently received a $5 million 140-ton stainless steel safety vessel that was developed at the site by engineering major Larsen & Toubro (BOM:500510) (Mumbai). The FBR is expected to attain criticality, the initiation of the first chain reaction to start the reactor, by September 2010. India's nuclear capacity is currently made up of two light water reactors built by General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut); two pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) built with Canadian assistance in the 1970s in Rawatbhata, Rajasthan; and 13 PHWRs that were locally developed.