Madras Atomic Power Station
| Madras Atomic Power station | |
|---|---|
 Location of Madras Atomic Power station in India
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| Country | India |
| Coordinates | 12°33′27″N 80°10′30″E / 12.55750°N 80.17500°ECoordinates: 12°33′27″N 80°10′30″E / 12.55750°N 80.17500°E |
| Construction began | 1970 |
| Commission date | 24 January 1984 |
| Operator(s) | Nuclear power Corporation of India Ltd |
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactor type | PHWR |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 × 235 MW |
| Units under const. | 1 × 500 MW |
| Units planned | 2 × 600 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 470 MW |
| Capacity factor | 56.1% |
| Average generation | 2,311 GW·h |
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Website Nuclear power Corporation of India Ltd |
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Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) located at Kalpakkam about 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Chennai, India, is a comprehensive nuclear power production, fuel reprocessing, and waste treatment facility that includes plutonium fuel fabrication for fast breeder reactors (FBRs). It is also India's first fully indigenously constructed nuclear power station, 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 a loss-of-coolant accident. An Interim Storage Facility (ISF) is also located in Kalpakkam.
During its construction, a total of 3.8 lakh (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.
As of July 2016[update] the Prototype 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. The following month the loading of the 1750 ton liquid sodium coolant were expected to happen in four to five months, with sources in the Department of Atomic Energy reporting that criticality would likely be reached only around May 2017.
The facility houses two indigenously built Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWRs), MAPS-1 and MAPS-2 designed to produce 235 MW of electricity each. MAPS-1 was completed in 1981, but start-up was delayed due to a shortage of heavy 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.
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