Kaiga all set to create new world record today for non-stop production 

Team Udayavani, Dec 10, 2018, 11:29 AM IST

Karwar: The Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) which recently created a new world record among pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs)  will be creating a new world record on December 10, with one of its units operating uninterrupted for more than 940 days.

Earlier the record was held by the Unit 2 of Heysham of the United Kingdom, which operated non-stop for 940 days. On Monday, Unit 1 of Kaiga will surpass that record to set a new one and it will continue to generate power till December 30, and on December 30 Unit 1 of Kaiga will be shut down for maintenance, informed sources.

It may be recalled that on October 24, KAPS had become the first-ever plant in the Heavy Pressurised Water category to have generated power continuously for 894 days. Previously a unit of Pickering Nuclear Generating Station (PNGS) had held this record.

Located 56 km from Karwar, the Kaiga plant has four units. Each unit generates 220 MW power. The power generated is supplied to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Four months ago, the same unit of Kaiga had set a national record for continuous operation of 766 days.

It was constructed in 1989, shortly after harsh sanctions by the United States were imposed against India’s Pokhran-II nuclear test of 1998. The crucial test made India a nuclear power by successfully detonating a series of five nuclear bombs.