Narora Atomic Power Station – An Analytical Study

Examining the Impact of Narora Atomic Power Station on Energy Generation and Regional Development in India

Abstract

India is a developing country and the population is rapidly increasing day by day. With increase in population, the energy demand is also increasing. India is not enriched in conventional sources of energy. Hence to meet the energy demands Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) India is looking towards the Nuclear Energy as a better option for Energy generation. For achieving this goal, DAE established Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) on 17 Sep 1987 which includes construction of 8 Nuclear Power Plants across India. Narora Atomic Power Plant (NAPS) is one of them. NAPS has two Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) type units, each having a generating capacity of 220Mwe.The commercial operation of Unit I and Unit II was started from 01 Jan 1991 and 01july 1992 respectively. The plant is located in Narora (Bulandshahar District West UP) on the bank of river Ganga. It is situated in Ganga-Yamuna doab and on the basis of seismic zone it is in Zone IV. Nearest district is Aligarh which is the most populated district of this region. NAPS supply five 220 KV power lines in Moradabad Tehsil, Harduaganj, Simbholi, Khurja (2Lines) which are densely populated areas and economically depends upon agriculture due to fertile land of River Ganga. The main crops are wheat, sugarcane etc. A large number of Sugar mills are also situated in these areas. The power need in agriculture, irrigation and industries especially Sugar mills is supplied by NAPS. In this way the power plants also plays a vital roles in the development of this region.