The power-starved state requires an additional 1400 MW from Kaiga facility to make up for the deficit,' Yeddyurappa said.

The Kaiga plant has four atomic units of 220 MW each with a combined installed capacity of 880 MW. Due to lack of uranium supplies, the units were not able to operate to their capacity over the last 10 months.

'With the India-US nuclear deal in place, we will not face supply constraint for nuclear fuels any more. We will be able to tie up with more global firms for steady import of uranium for the Kaiga plant's existing and proposed units.' Kakodakar said.

The chief minister and the AEC chairman did not share details such as execution timeframe, upfront investment and employment potential in the proposed new plant and the expanded units.

The state is keen to locate the greenfield atomic power plant in Bijapur district where the state-run National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is setting up a 4,000 MW plant so as to economise the cost of evacuation to the state grid.

The NTPC has set up a technical sub-committee for site inspection and prepare a feasibility study for expansion of Kaiga facility.

The state's plea for a greenfield atomic power plant is in line with the central government's target of generating about 20,000 MW through nuclear energy by 2020.