Steam generator marks milestone for Indian fleet construction

The completion of this major component was hailed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) as a "significant step" for India's nuclear expansion.

"Manufactured and dispatched seven months ahead of schedule, this Steam Generator underscores the capability of India’s industry to deliver critical nuclear components with speed and quality," the company said.

"As NPCIL spearheads the fleet of 10 indigenously designed 700 MWe PHWRs, this achievement strengthens the foundation of our proactive expansion strategy and reinforces our commitment to India’s vision of 100 GWe nuclear power capacity by 2047, ensuring reliable, clean and sustainable energy for a Viksit Bharat." (Viksit Bharat is the government's strategy to make India into a completely developed nation by 2047)

_{The flagging off ceremony (Image: NPCIL)}

Steam generators are heat exchangers which convert heat generated by the reactor core from the reactor coolant into steam to power the turbogenerator. The reactor coolant system is known as the primary circuit; the system in which the steam is produced is the secondary circuit.

The Gorakhpur plant - its full name is Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana, sometimes abbreviated to GHAVP - will be home to four 700 MWe Indian-designed pressurised heavy water reactors, or PHWRs. These are to be built in two phases. India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) granted a siting licence in 2015, and the government accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for the first two units in 2014. Gorakhpur units 3 and 4 are among ten 700 MWe PHWRs accorded administrative approval and financial sanction by the government in 2018, for construction in "fleet" mode.

Excavation work for Gorakhpur units 1 and 2 began at the site in 2018, and construction of peripheral buildings and structures is under way, although work on the main nuclear island has been delayed because of the need for extra ground stabilisation. According to recent written answers to the Indian parliament, the first two units are now pencilled in for completion by 2031-32.