KNPP 3rd and 4th reactors to start production in six years, say officials

On Saturday, PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Putin dedicated second unit, which is expected to start commercial production soon, to the country

The third and fourth reactors of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, are expected to start power production in around six years, according to officials.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have laid the foundation concrete for the third and fourth reactors of KNPP and dedicated the second unit, which will generate 1,000 Mw, to the nation on Saturday from Goa, where both met in the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

KNPP Site Director R S Sundar told reporters that the third unit will start power production in 69 months and the fourth unit will start production after six months from then, in the 75th month.

 

Sathish Kumar Sharma, chairman and managing director of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said that while for the first two units, almost 100 per cent of the components were from Russian partner, for the third and fourth units, almost 40 per cent of the components will be produced in India, by using the experience the Indian engineers have gained from the first two reactors. "The contribution of Indian engineers will go up further in the following units," he added while speaking to reporters after the foundation concrete pouring ceremony on Saturday, at Kudankulam.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi said that the dedication of Kudankulum 2 and laying of foundation concrete of Kundankulum 3 and 4 are the tangible results of India-Russia cooperation in the field of Civil Nuclear Energy.

"And, with proposed construction of another eight reactors, our wide ranging cooperation in nuclear energy is set to bring rich dividends for both of us. It also fits in with our needs of energy security, access to high technology and greater localisation and manufacturing in India," he added.

Units-III and IV of KNPP, with 2x1,000 Mw capacity, are expected to come up with an investment of around Rs 39,747 crore. The site was found to have an optimum potential for locating six units each of 1,000 Mw by the Site Selection Committee of the government. The government accorded 'in principle' approval for setting up of Units-V and VI at Kudankulam in October 2009.

The first unit of 1,000 Mw in KNPP went critical in July 2013 and was dedicated to the country by both the leaders on August 10, 2016. The second unit of 1,000 Mw achieved critically on July, 2016, and commercial generation is expected in around six months from then. Once the second unit at Kudankulam starts power generation at its full capacity, the total atomic power capacity in Tamil Nadu would go up to 2,440 Mw.

The first reactor started commercial operations on December 31, 2014, has cumulatively generated around 7,994 million units till August, 2016, and power generation between April 2016 and August 2016 was 3,645 MUs, with 99 per cent capacity factor, according to NPCIL, which is responsible for the setting up and operations of the plant.

However, the local activists who oppose the project questioned the speed with which the second unit has been dedicated, considering that it is yet to start commercial production. S P Udayakumar, who heads the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which has been opposing the Kudankulam Nuclear plant, said that the centre's decision to go ahead with the foundation laying of the next two units without representation from the state government and at a time when Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is hospitalised for ailment is to be condemned.

The original estimated cost for KKNPP's Unit-I and II was around Rs 13,000 crore but it was increased to Rs 22,000 crore due to delay in commissioning the project. It may be noted that the Indian government signed a contract with the Soviet Union to build the plant in 1988, but construction started only in 1997 due to political and economic upheaval in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The construction of the first two units was later halted in September 2011 following protests by villagers, who are mainly fishermen around the plant. Work at the plant finally resumed in March 2012, after the intervention of the state government and initiatives, mainly for awareness creation, taken by KKNPP to educate the villagers.