The Centre has begun a formal feasibility assessment for a nuclear power project at Dhuvaran in Anand district, which would become Gujarat’s second nuclear facility alongside the existing Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Tapi district. The proposed plant, a 50:50 joint venture between the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Gujarat State Electricity Company Limited (GSECL), could carry an installed capacity of either 4,200 MW or 7,000 MW, according to DeshGujarat and Vibes of India, with an estimated capital cost between Rs 1.25 lakh crore and Rs 2.25 lakh crore.
Why Dhuvaran
GSECL already owns roughly 1,100 acres at the site, on the banks of the Mahisagar river, land that currently hosts an ageing thermal and gas-based power station. That existing ownership sidesteps one of the biggest obstacles nuclear projects usually face in India: land acquisition. The river offers a potential cooling-water source, one of the non-negotiable requirements for any reactor site. A central government team has already visited to examine the location, and officials are weighing Indian pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) technology against imported pressurised water reactor (PWR) designs, A formal technical and seismic assessment, covering geotechnical conditions and water availability, is now underway.
What it means for Gujarat
The push reflects a genuine supply problem: Gujarat’s semiconductor, green hydrogen, data centre and electric-mobility investments are adding load to a grid that renewables alone cannot reliably cover, since solar and wind output is intermittent while these industries need round-the-clock power. Nuclear capacity, unlike thermal, doesn’t add to the state’s coal dependence or emissions profile, which matters for a state already courting climate-conscious global manufacturers. Kakrapar’s four reactors currently supply just 1,840 MW, a fraction of what Dhuvaran could eventually add if the higher-capacity option is chosen and both units are approved. That said, none of this is imminent: nuclear projects of this scale typically take a decade or more from feasibility clearance to first power, so it will not solve any near-term supply crunch.
Anand district residents, in particular, will be the ones absorbing the practical questions: construction traffic, employment opportunities, water-use competition with agriculture in a district known for dairy farming, and the standard safety and land-use scrutiny that comes with any nuclear proposal, even one built on already-owned land.
What to watch
The feasibility study’s findings, expected once seismic and geotechnical surveys conclude, will determine whether the project advances to formal government approval. India is targeting a jump in national nuclear capacity from roughly 8.8 GW today to 22 GW by 2031-32, and Dhuvaran’s fate will be an early test of how fast that expansion can actually move.
Sources: DeshGujarat, Vibes of India
This report was compiled and written with AI assistance from publicly reported sources, and reviewed for accuracy.