Kudankulam is India’s first nuke plant to produce 1,000 MW of power

June 10, 2014

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) achieved its full power generation potential and thus became India’s first nuclear power plant to generate 1,000 Mega Watt (MW) of electricity. Other nuclear plants in India generally generate only around 540 MW of power while in the case of thermal plants it could increase up to 660 or 680 MW. Thus, in terms of capacity, Kudankulam Unit I is a significant achievement.
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP)
KNPP is a nuclear power plant in Koodankulam in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu in India. The plant’s first reactor is the first Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) belonging to the Light Water Reactor (LWR) category in India, and the 21^st nuclear power reactor in the country. It is considered as “the harbinger of the large-size LWR technology in India“. The plant faced several impediments during its construction phase from March 31, 2002 to 2013 which delayed it.

Delayed: The project was delayed mainly due to the 500-day long anti-nuclear protests by the locals, led by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE). The first reactor of the plant attained criticality on July 13, 2013.
Duration: Around 6 years after the scheduled date, and 12 years after the construction of the plant started, the plant was commissioned when unit 1 was synchronized with the southern power grid on October 22, 2013.

Cost: The original cost of the two units was Rs. 13,171 crore, but it was later revised to Rs. 17,270 crore. A credit of Rs. 6,416 crore was advanced by Russia to both the units- I and II of Kudankulam.

« Previous Post Next Post »