New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) India's home-built 700-MW nuclear power plant at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan was connected to the northern grid early Monday, taking the total installed capacity of nuclear energy to 8,880 MW, officials said.

The Unit 7 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (RAPP) at Rawatbhata was connected to the Northern Grid at 2:37 am Monday, after complying with all pre-requisites including those stipulated by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), India's nuclear operator, said in a statement.

The power level of the unit will be increased in steps to full in line with the regulatory clearances.

The RAPP-7 is the third reactor of the 700 MW series of 16 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) being set up in the country. Its twin unit RAPP-8 is expected to be operational in 2025-26.

The RAPP-7 unit achieved first criticality on September 19 last year.

Earlier, the first two 700 MW PHWRs -- KAPS 3&4 at Kakrapar in Gujarat -- were operationalised and connected to the grid.

These 700 MW PHWRs have advanced safety features and are among the safest reactors in the world.

The indigenous 700 MW PHWRs will constitute a significant component of the capacity of 100 GW by 2047 announced under the Nuclear Energy Mission in the Union Budget this year.

A typical 700 MW reactor would generate about 5.2 Billion Units of clean electricity (at 85 per cent Plant Load Factor) per annum, thereby averting about 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually.

The Rawatbhata site in Rajasthan already has six units with a total capacity of 1180 MW. On completion of RAPP 7&8, the installed capacity at the site will increase to 2,580 MW.

The NPCIL now operates 25 reactors with a total capacity of 8,880 MW.

In addition to 13,100 MW capacity under implementation, more reactors are also planned to be launched by NPCIL in future, in its effort to contribute about half of the 100 GW nuclear power capacity by 2047 announced in the Nuclear Energy Mission. PTI SKU SKU TIR TIR

Regulatory compliance for grid connection: indigenous nuclear unit tied to northern grid after meeting regulatory prerequisites, incremental power increase permitted. Connection to the Northern Grid was effected for a newly commissioned indigenous reactor after completion of mandated pre requisites, including those required by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, and subject to staged increases in power intake in line with regulatory clearances; this synchronization follows first criticality and underscores regulatory and safety oversight as a condition for commercial operation.