The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has synchronized the unit 2, with 1GW capacity, at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KNPP) located in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, a state in India, to the grid.
The unit, which achieved criticality on July 2016, has been synchronized to the southern power grid situated at Abhishekapatti.
Currently generating 245MW of power, the unit 2 synchronization follows completion of several successful tests and also received approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).
Power generated by the power plant will be supplied to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Pondicherry.
KKNPP site director Sundar was quoted by The Hindu as saying: “We’re now transmitting 245MWe power to the southern grid from the second unit, which will be gradually increased in phases, after conducting mandatory tests stipulated by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.”
The nuclear project features Voda Voda Energo Reactor (VVER) reactors, each with 1GW capacity, and is the first nuclear plant to use imported PWR technology.
The nuclear reactors for the Kudankulam plant are being built jointly by India’s state owned NPCIL and Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Russia's state nuclear power corporation Rosatom, as part of a deal signed earlier.
Recently, Indian has dedicated the 1000MW Unit 1 of the KNPP to the nation.
The KKNPP’s Generation III+ reactors feature a combination of active safety systems as well as passive safety systems including passive heat removal system, hydrogen recombiners, core catcher, hydro accumulators and quick boron injection system.
Image: Construction work underway at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in India. Photo: courtesy of Petr Pavlicek/ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).