The Kudankulam nuclear power plant’s second unit is likely to be launched in June, the website of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has stated.
The launch of the second unit of KNPP that is under construction in India, with Russian collaboration, is due in June this year. This is the beginning of a controlled nuclear chain reaction in the VVER-1000 second unit reactor and its transfer to the minimally controlled power unit level (CPU). This power level is sufficient to monitor a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The transfer of the new power unit to the CPU is one of the most important steps in preparation for the unit’s operation.
In accordance with the intergovernmental agreement of 1988 and the supplement thereto of 1998, Russia is building the Kudankulam NPP in India. The first unit with a 1000 MW power station is reportedly the most powerful and safe in India and meets the most modern safety requirements. Power from the first KNPP unit flowed into the national power supply grid in 2013.
The Kudankulam NPP is located in Kudankulam town in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Russia and India signed a general framework agreement in the spring of 2014 on construction of the second stage (the third and fourth units) of the nuclear power plants, and in December that year, they signed the documents enabling the construction to begin. A framework agreement on construction of the fifth and sixth units of the Kudankulam NPP is being prepared for signing.