Kudankulam Nuclear Plant Goes Critical after Decade of Delays

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--India's 2,000-megawatt (MW), $2.9 billion Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) began construction in 2001, but has faced delays due to Russian component supply problems and heated disputes among local farming and fishing lobbies. The plant has started generating heat and steam from 163 uranium fuel bundles loaded into the reactor.

The fission process started at India's 21st nuclear reactor after about 80 tons of uranium oxide had been loaded and attained criticality. KNPP is India's first pressurized water reactor in the light water category.

The state-controlled Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is building two nuclear reactors with Russian technology and equipment at the site, which is 650 kilometers from Chennai. If performance reports at low power are satisfactory, the country's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) will give clearance for a phased increase in the reactor power level.

In the next 30 to 45 days, the plant is expected to generate at 400 MW when it will be synchronized with the southern grid in incremental steps. When completed, it will increase the country' total nuclear power capacity to 5,780 MW.

Tamil Nadu will take 463 MW from the first 1,000-MW unit, and the second unit is scheduled to be brought online in six to eight months. It is expected that a general framework agreement will be signed with the Russian supplier soon, as work on the administrative building for these units is now in progress. Investment in these units is estimated to be $6.8 billion.

Other projects under construction as part of India's nuclear build program are Kakrapar and Rajasthan, each of which have two units of 700 MW apiece, and the second 1,000-MW KNPP unit. When these are all in operation, the country's total nuclear power capacity will be 9,580 MW.

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