Kakrapar nuclear power plant 3
Gross capacity
700MW
Kakrapar nuclear power plant 3 is a pressurised heavy water reactor unit at Kakrapar nuclear power plant in India rated at 700 MW gross. It is operating. Commercial operation began 30 Jun 2023.
Specification
| Reactor type | Pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) |
|---|---|
| Model | PHWR-700 |
| Size | Largeabove 300 MWe |
| Coolant | Heavy water |
| Moderator | Heavy water |
| Gross capacity | 700MW |
| Net capacity (reference) | 630MW |
| Net capacity (design) | 630MW |
| Thermal output | 2,166MWt |
| NSSS vendor | Nuclear Power Corporation of Indiaall vendors |
| Typical enrichment | Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 |
Ownership & location
| Site | Kakrapar nuclear power plant |
|---|---|
| Unit | 3 |
| Country | India |
| Owner | Nuclear Power Corporation Of India Ltd100% |
| Operator | Nuclear Power Corporation Of India |
| Coordinates | 21.2384, 73.3489 |
Fuel chain for this unit
Fuel form
Natural uranium dioxide bundles
Enrichment
Natural uranium, 0.71% U-235 no enrichment required
Who makes this assembly
- BWX Technologies CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- Cameco Corporation CANDU fuel bundles, natural uranium
- China North Nuclear Fuel Company CANDU fuel bundles
- KEPCO Nuclear Fuel CANDU fuel bundles
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India PHWR fuel bundles, natural uranium
Upstream
This unit runs on natural uranium, so its fuel chain has no enrichment step at all: mine → mill → conversion → fabrication. That is the shortest fuel chain of any commercial reactor type, and it makes the operator independent of the four organisations that control enrichment worldwide.
Fabricator capability is recorded against reactor type and model line, not against named units,
utilities do not publish fuel contracts. See the fuel chain.
Timeline
- 22 Nov 2010Construction start
- 22 Jul 2020First criticality
- 10 Jan 2021Grid connection
- 30 Jun 2023Commercial operation
Other units at Kakrapar nuclear power plant
| Unit | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|
| Kakrapar nuclear power plant 1 | 220 | |
| Kakrapar nuclear power plant 2 | 220 | |
| Kakrapar nuclear power plant 4 | 700 |
Other PHWR-700 units
16 units worldwide share this model designation.
| Unit | Country | Status | Gross MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kakrapar nuclear power plant 4 | India | 700 | |
| Bhimpur nuclear power plant 1 | India | Cancelled | 700 |
| Bhimpur nuclear power plant 2 | India | Cancelled | 700 |
| Bhimpur nuclear power plant 3 | India | Cancelled | 700 |
| Bhimpur nuclear power plant 4 | India | Cancelled | 700 |
| Chutka nuclear power plant 1 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
| Chutka nuclear power plant 2 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
| Gorakhpur Haryana nuclear power plant 1-1 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
| Gorakhpur Haryana nuclear power plant 1-2 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
| Gorakhpur Haryana nuclear power plant 2-3 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
| Gorakhpur Haryana nuclear power plant 2-4 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
| Mahi Banswara nuclear power plant 1-1 | India | Pre-construction | 700 |
Sources
- Global Nuclear Power Tracker, Global Energy Monitor, August 2026 release , CC BY 4.0 · retrieved 2026-09-06 · this unit last researched by GEM on 2024-05-17
- GEM.wiki entry (further reading) , CC BY-SA 4.0, linked, not quoted
How these sources are used, including the corrections applied on top of them and what is deliberately left blank · download the underlying data