15 Jul (NucNet): First criticality was achieved at the first unit at the Kudankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu, southern India, shortly before midnight on 13 July, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NCPIL) has said.
The state corporation said in a statement that “first approach to criticality” was started at around midnight on 11 July, after completion of all statutory and regulatory requirements and receipt of clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
The Kudankulam-1 and -2 nuclear units are both Russian-designed VVER-1000 light water reactors with a design net output of 917 megawatts (MW). They were built with technical cooperation from Russia.
The AERB said the next stage is to synchronise Kudankulam-1 with the southern grid with about 400 MW of power. This is scheduled to happen within 30 to 45 days.
After the completion of procedural and regulatory requirements, power will then be increased to maximum in several steps, the AERB said.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency there are 20 commercially operational nuclear units in India with seven, including Kudankulam-1, under construction.
With the addition of Kudankulam-1 to the grid, India’s total nuclear power generation capacity will increase to 5,780 MW gross (5,308 MW net), NPCIL said.
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To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lubomir Mitev at lubomir.mitev@nucnet.org
