'Eight nuclear reactors to come up in the country'

KANPUR: In order to meet ever-increasing power demands and to make the country self-reliant in the field of nuclear power, work is underway to construct eight nuclear power plants across the country.

Eight nuclear power reactors, each having capacity to produce 700 megawatt of electricity, are being set up across the country in order to make the nation self-dependent in producing nuclear energy, director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Shrikumar Banerjee said at the Indian Institute of Technology here on Saturday night.
    
"For this, there is a requirement of around 80,000 ton of Uranium to run those reactors for 60 years," he said adding, the country has enough resources of uranium and recently it has been found in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalya also.
    
Banerjee also said the country is looking at the target of generating 15 to 20 per cent electricity through nuclear energy, which presently is three per cent, by the next 15 years.
   
The scientists are also working on to prepare new design of the reactors so as to increase their life from 40 to 60 years, he added.
    
In India, only nuclear reactor at Tarapore in Maharashtra has the capacity to produce 540 mega watt of nuclear energy.