<p> The first reactor is scheduled to be operational by 2018. <br />The European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) will come with 25 years of fuel supply guarantee, irrespective of the geo-political developments in Asia, assured Areva chief executive officer Anne Lauvergeon, who is part of a delegation accompanying French president Nicolas Sarkozy.<br /><br />These are the first two of six EPRs which New Delhi will eventually install at Jaitapur making it a nuclear park generating 9,900 MW electricity. France was the first country that signed a nuclear pact with India after the withdrawal of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) restrictions in October 2008. <br /><br />The EPR agreements was signed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain and Lauvergeon in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sarkozy. <br /><br />Sarkozy and Singh termed the agreement as a “significant milestone” in civil nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries. However, the two sides did not ink the commercial contract as there are pending issues on financing and cost of electricity. The French side is waiting to see how rules will be framed under the new nuclear liability law so that additional cost can be factored in. <br /><br />Asked whether she was satisfied with the new Indian liability law, Lauvergeon said: “It is not a deal-breaker. It (N-liability) is an emotional issue after the Bhopal decision and there are political sensitivities.”<br /><br />A third generation high-power output pressurised water reactor, EPR is a mega electricity-generating machine that will catapult India into nuclear big league. India operates mostly 220 MWe reactors and a couple of 540 MWe (Megawatt electric) ones. The first 1,000 MWe reactor at Kudankulam may become functional by early 2011.<br /><br />Globally, four EPRs are under construction in Finland (Olkiluoto), France (Flamanville) and China (two in Taishan). The Finland and China reactors will become critical by 2013-14. <br />On the Jaitapur site, the French company will start the feasibility studies on site excavation by 2011 to get the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board permission at the earliest. Areva has also entered into partnership with Indian companies like Bharat Forge, Tata and Larsen and Toubro for developing various components for the nuclear plant. <br /><br />With no operational EPR in the world, environmentalists and the anti-nuclear lobby had voiced concerns on the safety of the giant reactors. But Areva officials countered it steadfastly claiming that the reactor had the best safety features and barely any chance of a radioactive leak. <br /><br />Designed after September 11, 2001, the EPR can withstand the impact of a large commercial aircraft crashing on it. It is also safe against forced intrusion, fire, flood and earthquake. The total amount of steel required for an EPR is five times the steel used in the Eiffel Tower.<br /><br />Asked whether Jaitapur can have all the six reactors by 2030, Philippe Knoche, executive vice president of Areva said, the target was “too aggressive and unrealistic” as completing one EPR takes about seven to nine years.</p>
<p> The first reactor is scheduled to be operational by 2018. <br />The European Pressurised Reactors (EPR) will come with 25 years of fuel supply guarantee, irrespective of the geo-political developments in Asia, assured Areva chief executive officer Anne Lauvergeon, who is part of a delegation accompanying French president Nicolas Sarkozy.<br /><br />These are the first two of six EPRs which New Delhi will eventually install at Jaitapur making it a nuclear park generating 9,900 MW electricity. France was the first country that signed a nuclear pact with India after the withdrawal of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) restrictions in October 2008. <br /><br />The EPR agreements was signed by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd Chairman and Managing Director S K Jain and Lauvergeon in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sarkozy. <br /><br />Sarkozy and Singh termed the agreement as a “significant milestone” in civil nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries. However, the two sides did not ink the commercial contract as there are pending issues on financing and cost of electricity. The French side is waiting to see how rules will be framed under the new nuclear liability law so that additional cost can be factored in. <br /><br />Asked whether she was satisfied with the new Indian liability law, Lauvergeon said: “It is not a deal-breaker. It (N-liability) is an emotional issue after the Bhopal decision and there are political sensitivities.”<br /><br />A third generation high-power output pressurised water reactor, EPR is a mega electricity-generating machine that will catapult India into nuclear big league. India operates mostly 220 MWe reactors and a couple of 540 MWe (Megawatt electric) ones. The first 1,000 MWe reactor at Kudankulam may become functional by early 2011.<br /><br />Globally, four EPRs are under construction in Finland (Olkiluoto), France (Flamanville) and China (two in Taishan). The Finland and China reactors will become critical by 2013-14. <br />On the Jaitapur site, the French company will start the feasibility studies on site excavation by 2011 to get the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board permission at the earliest. Areva has also entered into partnership with Indian companies like Bharat Forge, Tata and Larsen and Toubro for developing various components for the nuclear plant. <br /><br />With no operational EPR in the world, environmentalists and the anti-nuclear lobby had voiced concerns on the safety of the giant reactors. But Areva officials countered it steadfastly claiming that the reactor had the best safety features and barely any chance of a radioactive leak. <br /><br />Designed after September 11, 2001, the EPR can withstand the impact of a large commercial aircraft crashing on it. It is also safe against forced intrusion, fire, flood and earthquake. The total amount of steel required for an EPR is five times the steel used in the Eiffel Tower.<br /><br />Asked whether Jaitapur can have all the six reactors by 2030, Philippe Knoche, executive vice president of Areva said, the target was “too aggressive and unrealistic” as completing one EPR takes about seven to nine years.</p>
