NPCIL to operate 220 MW small nuclear plants for private companies

In a first, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) will operate 220 MW capacity small nuclear plants for private players who will provide both funding and land for the project, a senior government official has said.

A development on this front is likely by this year-end or early 2025, the official told PTI.

"The funding and land for the nuclear plant will be made available by the private player but the plant will be managed by NPCIL," the official said.

With the NPCIL, a public sector enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy, managing and operating the plant, the need to amend the Atomic Energy Act will not arise. Under the Atomic Energy Act, the nuclear energy sector is open only for government PSUs, another official said.

These 220 MW reactors will be known as 'Bharat Small Reactors' for which research is already in progress at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the official said.

The Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) technology, which India has maste