Small modular reactors & Bharat Small Reactors
Small modular reactors (SMRs)
SMRs are miniaturised versions of large nuclear power plants.
They promise to be safer by virtue of having fewer operating parts and more safety features
SMRs have emerged as another option in this milieu to complement existing power generation facilities, including nuclear ones
Bharat Small Reactors
The ‘Bharat Small Reactor’ is related to SMRs but is also different.
At the Madras Atomic Power Station in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, India has been operating two nuclear power facilities of 220 MW each for nearly 40 years.
One of these reactors is currently undergoing repairs.
The other is to become the first Bharat Small Reactor (BSR).
This reactor will be re-engineered to incorporate additional safety features.
A reactor with output lower than 300 MW is considered ‘small’.
The purpose of this exercise is to turn this “proven” reactor into a small nuclear power facility.
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