27 Jun (NucNet): GE and French state-controlled utility EDF have agreed to form a partnership to build six reactors for a nuclear power project in western India.
Once fully commissioned, the Jaitapur project will be the largest nuclear power station in the world, with an installed capacity of around 9,900 MW.
The six EPR units will be built at Jaitapur, south of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, GE and EDF said in a joint statement released on 26 June 2018.
The agreement is an important step in implementing the March 10 agreement between India and France to expedite the Jaitapur nuclear power plant project, the statement said. EDF is to supply EPR technology for the plant.
Jaitapur is among the projects India plans to build to raise its nuclear power generation capacity to 22,480 MW by 2031.
EDF will be responsible for engineering integration of the entire project, while GE Power will design the critical part of the plant and supply its main components, the companies said.
GE will also provide operational support services and a training programme to meet the needs of the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India, the facility’s owner and operator.
EDF and GE Power said they will now define the project’s technical options, fine-tune industrial arrangements between both companies and finalise the design-engineering and procurement schedule.
GE Power is a long-standing partner of the EDF Group. The company is the main supplier of conventional-island components for many French nuclear plants including the Flamanville-3 EPR under construction in Normandy and Hinkley Point C in the UK.
The joint statement said EPR reactors, with a capacity of around 1,600 MW per reactor unit, are particularly well-suited to a fast-growing country like India, which has a mature power system.
India is planning to increase its nuclear share of electricity production from around 3% today to 25% in 2050, minister of state Jitendra Singh told the country’s parliament in a written statement in March.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says India has 22 nuclear reactors in commercial operation and six under construction. India will add 6,700 MW (gross) by 2022 from reactors that are already under construction.
