Unit 5 of RAPS becomes world\\\'s 2nd longest running reactor

RAWATBHATA, Rajasthan,  Sept 7 (PTI):  India's nuclear power programme yesterday reached a new milestone after Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Staion become the second longest running reactor in the world by being in operation for 765 days continuously.
The Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS), a 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), in Rawatbhata has been in uninterrupted operation since August 2, 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of 105 per cent.
It has since then generated around 4,258 million units of electricity.
The plant, commissioned in February 2010, has been running at the capacity of 98.5 per cent and until now generated 8,663 million units of electricity.
Speaking on the occasion, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Secretary Ratan Kumar Sinha, said the development was bigger than the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Station (KKNPP) unit 1 reaching its criticality as the success was a outcome of India's indigenously developed PHWR technology and it has sent an important message of "India's superiority".
"This is not only an emotional moment, but a moment of pride. There are only 10 reactors in the world that have crossed 500 days of uninterrupted operation.