Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project

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Reactors in planning ( gross ):

The Jaitapur nuclear power plant is a planned nuclear power plant in Ratnagiri district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. In terms of electrical power, it is to be the largest nuclear power plant in the world with six reactors, each 1650 MW.

On 6 December 2010 an agreement on the construction of the first two reactors and a 25- year supply of fissile material in the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been signed. Contractors are the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and the French energy group Areva.

Location

The entire facility will have an area of 9.68 km2. The district Ratnagiri is located in the coastal region of Konkan in Western Ghats Mountains. In 2006, India requested the inclusion of this mountain range as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This request was granted in 2012 in relation to 39 individual protected areas.

Specifications

It should come six pressurized water reactors of the third generation ( Areva EPR ) are used. The computerized control system of this reactor type is not yet supported by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC ) for mature. The construction costs were estimated at 20.27 billion U.S. dollars. It will be funded by a French consortium and are monitored by the OECD.

Criticism

About the risks of earthquake, the situation is seen as critical. In India, there are five categories for earthquake- prone areas. Jaitapur belongs to category 3 and is thus an average risk.

As part of the contract negotiations, there was strong resistance from the region. By January 2010, only 33 had agreed to 2335 villagers in the assignment of land.