 "Kudankulam nuclear plant's Unit-I achieves rated capacity")
Initially, the commissioning of the first stage of the plant was set for late 2011 but was delayed due to mass protests. A section of fishermen from neighbouring villages had demanded its closure.
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is setting up two Russian-made 1,000-MWe atomic power plants here, at an outlay of about Rs 17,000 crore.
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R S Sundar, KNPP's site director, said, "The unit touched 1,000 MWe at 13.20 hours on Saturday. There was no tension, as we have been operating the unit at 950 MWe in the morning." Preparations for carrying out the hydro-test, a crucial test before fuelling the reactor, at the second unit is expected to start sometime next week.
The plant will be operated at 1,000 MWe for a couple of days, after which dynamic tests will be conducted. The reports of this will be submitted to the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB). Sundar said to carry out the dynamic tests, the plant had to secure approval to connect with the Southern Grid, as power levels would be reduced during the tests.
After achieving criticality levels on July 13, 2013, the first reactor went through a series of tests stipulated by AERB and Atomstroyexport, the technology provider.
Last year, after the Supreme Court gave its approval in this regard, unit I of the plant began operations and was connected to the grid. The approval was, however, subject to nods by various agencies such as NPCIL, AERB, the environment ministry and the Tamil Nadu government.
India is planning to build 19 nuclear power units, with a combined capacity of 17,400 MWe, by 2017. Eight of these will be built in cooperation with other countries. It was reported Russia would help build units III and IV of the Kudankulam plant.
The two units are scheduled to have a capacity of 1,000 Mwe each.