| Madras Atomic Power station | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Country | India |
| Coordinates | 12°33′27″N80°10′30″E / 12.55750°N 80.17500°E /12.55750; 80.17500 |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | Units 1 & 2: 1970 (1970) PFBR: January 2004 (2004-01) |
| Commission date | Units 1: 27 January 1984 (1984-01-27) Units 2: 21 March 1986 (1986-03-21) |
| Owners | Units 1 & 2:NPCIL PFBR, FBR-1&2:BHAVINI |
| Operators | Units 1 & 2:NPCIL PFBR, FBR-1&2:BHAVINI |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactors | 2 |
| Reactor type | Units 1 & 2:IPHWR-220 PFBR:Prototype FBR-1&2:FBR-600 |
| Reactor supplier | Units 1 & 2:BARC/NPCIL PFBR, FBR-1&2:IGCAR/BHAVINI |
| Cooling source | Bay of Bengal |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 × 220 MW |
| Units planned | 2 × 600 MW |
| Units under const. | 1 × 500 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 440MW |
| Capacity factor | 44.21% (2020-21)[1] |
| Annual net output | 1703.92GW.h (2020-21)[1] |
| External links | |
| Website | Nuclear power Corporation of India Ltd |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
 | |
Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) located atKalpakkam about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south ofChennai,India, is a comprehensivenuclear power production, fuelreprocessing, andwaste treatment facility that includesplutoniumfuel fabrication forfast breeder reactors (FBRs). It is also India's first fully indigenously constructednuclear power station[citation needed], with two units each generating 220 MW of electricity. The first and second units of the station went critical in 1983 and 1985, respectively. The station has reactors housed in a reactor building with double shell containment improving protection also in the case of aloss-of-coolant accident. An Interim Storage Facility (ISF) is also located in Kalpakkam.
The facility is also home to India's first large scalefast breeder reactor of 500 MWe called thePrototype Fast Breeder Reactor operated byBHAVINI and will also be the site of first twoFBR-600 commercial fast breeder reactors.[2]
During its construction, a total of 3.8lakh (380,000) railway sleeper (logs) were brought from all over India to lift the 180 ton critical equipment in the first unit, due to lack of proper infrastructure and handling equipment.[3]
As of July 2016[update] thePrototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) was in its final construction stage, and was expected to reach criticality in March 2017 with 500 MW of electricity production.[2][4]The following month the loading of the 1750 ton liquidsodiumcoolant were expected to happen in four to five months, with sources in theDepartment of Atomic Energy reporting that criticality would likely be reached only around May 2017.[5]
The facility houses two indigenously built Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWRs), MAPS-1 and MAPS-2 designed to produce 235 MW of electricity each.[6] MAPS-1 was completed in 1981, but start-up was delayed due to a shortage ofheavy water. After procuring the necessary heavy water, MAPS-1 went critical in 1983 and began operating at full power on 27 January 1984. MAPS-2 obtained criticality in 1985 and began full power operations on 21 March 1986.[6][7]
With India not being a signatory to theTreaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons the reactors have since 1985 been delivering theirspent fuel to thenuclear reprocessing plant at Tarapur, providing the country withunsafeguardedplutonium.[6]
A beachhead at Kalpakkam also hosts India's first indigenousPressurised (light) water reactor (PWR). The 80 MW reactor was developed byBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) as the land-based prototype of the nuclear power unit for India's nuclear submarines.[8] This unit does not come under MAPS.
| Phase | Unit No. | Reactor | Status | Capacity in MWe | Construction start | Firstcriticality | Grid Connection | Commercial operation | Closure | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Model | Net | Gross | |||||||||
| I | 1 | PHWR | IPHWR-220 | Operation suspended (under maintenance) | 202 | 220 | 1 January 1971 | 2 July 1983 | 23 July 1983 | 27 January 1984 | — | [9][10] |
| 2 | PHWR | IPHWR-220 | Operational | 202 | 220 | 1 October 1972 | 12 August 1985 | 20 September 1985 | 21 March 1986 | — | [9] | |
| II | 3 | FBR | PFBR | Completed | 470 | 500 | 23 October 2004 | — | — | — | — | [9] |
| III | 4 | FBR | FBR-600 | Planned | 570 | 600 | — | — | — | — | — | [9] |
| 5 | FBR | FBR-600 | Planned | 570 | 600 | — | — | — | — | — | [9] | |
The reactors' coolant pipes had been plagued by vibrations and cracking with substantial cracking in the reactor coolant system. This cracking has led to the discovery ofZircaloy pieces in a moderator pump, requiring the power generation to be lowered to 170 MW.[6]
On 26 March 1999 large amounts of heavy water spilled at MAPS-2, exposing seven technicians to heavy[quantify]doses of radiation.[6]
PFBR is poised for first criticality by March, 2017.
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