Kudankulam nuclear power plant's second unit reaches full capacity

The second unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) has reached 100 percent capacity (1000 megawatts) for the first time, a senior Rosatom official told RIR on Jan. 22.

“After completing the physical experiments stage at 90 per cent power level and after obtaining the permission of the Indian regulatory authority, the reactor plant was brought to 100 per cent nominal level of neutron power,” said Andrey Lebedev, vice-president (South Asia), ASE Group of Companies, which is the construction and engineering division of Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom.

“We have reached the last stage of dynamic tests at nominal power,” Lebedev added. “As per the schedule, this stage will completed during the first two weeks of February.” 

The unit will go live once these final tests are complete.

KNPP’s second unit was connected to the power grid of India on Aug. 29, 2016. Physical start-up of the unit commenced in May 2016 when the first fuel assembly was loaded into the reactor. In total, 163 fuel assemblies were loaded into the reactor.

Rosatom constructed the nuclear power plant, which is now being operated by The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).

In December 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed the ‘Strategic Vision’ document, which envisages the construction of at least 12 more Russian-designed nuclear power units in India.

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