Atomic regulators meet discusses Russian VVER reactors...

 

The 20th meeting of the VVER (Russian atomic reactor) Regulators Forum hosted by India for the first time concluded Friday at Kanyakumari, said a senior Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) official.

The forum was founded in 1993 and consists of atomic regulators from various countries where the Russian designed VVER nuclear reactors operate or are being set up.

India's atomic power company Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is setting up two VVER reactors of 1,000 MW capacity at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from here.

The three-day meeting began Dec 11 and concluded Friday.

"Regulators who attended the conference submitted a report on the VVER reactors in their countries. India too submitted its report. The reports are not public. The reports basically deal with policy related aspects," AERB Secretary R. Bhattacharya told IANS over phone from Kanyakumari.

He said the forum also discussed the additional safety measures taken after the nuclear accident that happened in Fukushima in Japan.

The forum was attended by 14 foreign delegates and chaired by AERB Chairman S.S. Bajaj.

The forum consists of nuclear regulatory organisations from Armenia, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Iran, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine and India.

Speaking about the first unit at Kudankulam that has started power generation, Bhattacharya said the unit is working well.

"There are no reactor safety related issues. There was some issue with the secondary equipment which has been sorted out," Bhattacharya said.

Permission to generate power up to 50 percent (500 MW) of the rated capacity has been given August 2013 which is valid till Jan, 2014.

He said Finland has expressed its wish to host the next meeting of the VVER Regulators Forum and a decision on it will be taken later.

Source

Read More...

Tamil Nadu Industries seeks all the power from Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant...

 

Industries in the Coimbatore region have demanded the full utilisation of power generated from the Koodan­kulam Nuclear Power Plant until the power crisis ended for the state, besides emphasising equal distribution of power supply across the state.
 
“As the whole state has been suffering without power, it should first be fully utilised for the benefit of the state. The situation in the industries in the region has gone worse due to power crisis and the recent announcements of power generated from the nuclear power plant will be heartwarming if fully utilised for Tamil Nadu,” said S Ravikumar, president, Coimbatore Tirupur District Micro and Cottage Entrepreneurs Association (COTMA).
 
When the plant had begun generating electricity in the state, against much odds, why not consider its first utilisation for the state itself, when power crisis had been crippling industries for the past five years, asked J James, president of Tamil Nadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT). It was the common demand not from industries but from all sections of people that it had to be utilised fully for the state to lift it up from the situation.
 
Industries said that though there was a two-hour power cut announced for Chennai, it was only to pacify those in the districts as they were demanding equal distribution across the state. The industries here were left without power for over seven hours a day. “There should be some equality in meeting the demands of people in all the districts, and not one should be favoured over the other,” said TACT.
 
‘30% powerloom production hit due to power cuts’
 
Erode: Powerloom industry in Tamil Nadu has suffered 30 per cent production loss due to power cuts in the past one month, a top official of the Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) said on Sunday. There were 4.5 lakh powerlooms functioning in the state and they usually produce 50 lakh metres of cloth daily. But in the past one month, the industry along with others had been badly hit by power shutdown, bringing down the production by 30 per cent, PDEXCIL Vice-Chairman (South) V.T. Karuna­nidhi said. Due to the decrease in production, the powerloom owners were facing heavy financial loss as they were not able to complete the orders taken, he told reporters here.
 
All Traders Associations of Erode District Chairman N Sivanesan said because of the "undeclared" powercut industries, including small scale, were incurring huge loss.
 
The power situation in the state, which improved in the middle of the year, has again become bad forcing the government to re-introduce load-shedding in Chennai from this month in view of increased power cut in other parts of the state. Complaining that central generating units alone accounted for 2500 MW shortfall in the past one month, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has petitioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention to restore normalcy.

Source

Read More...

Kudankulam Nuclear Plant's generating capacity increased to 370 MW...

 

The first unit (1000 MWe) of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), is now generating 370 MWe and electricity is being wheeled into the southern grid, according to R.S. Sundar, Site Director, Kudankulam-1 and 2.

Two Russian reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 MWe, had been built at the KKNPP in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

The first one, which went critical on July 13, was now stabilising and it would generate its full power in January 2014, he said.

“We are monitoring all parameters and we are reporting them stage-wise to the regulatory authorities,” he said. Electricity from unit-1 first started flowing into the grid on October 22.

The second unit would be commissioned in next June or July.

Dummy fuel were loaded into the second unit a few months ago, Mr. Sundar said.

Out of 2,000 MWe to be generated from the two units, Tamil Nadu will receive 925 MWe, Karnataka 442 MWe, Kerala 266 MWe and Puducherry 67 MWe. The remaining remains as yet unallocated.

The two reactors, called VVER-1000 are built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). While their original cost was Rs.13,171 crore, the revised cost is Rs.17,270 crore.

The NPCIL will build two more such reactors at Kudankulam. Officials from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said the third and fourth units would cost more than Rs. 39,000 crore — almost at Rs. 20 crore for a MWe. Fifth and sixth units will also come up at Kudankulam.

Source

Read More...

India committed to highest safety standards at its nuclear plants...

 

India has said it is committed to implementing the highest safety standards at its nuclear power plants as it seeks to harness the benefits of atomic energy to meet its growing energy requirements.

"Nuclear power remains an important option not only for countries with existing nuclear programmes, but also for developing countries with growing energy requirements," visiting BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha said in his statement to the UN General Assembly on the 2012 annual report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

India has co-sponsored the draft resolution on the IAEA report.

Sinha said India is committed to implementing the "highest standards for the safety of Indian nuclear power plants and the associated fuel cycle facilities."

The country would also continue to participate and assist the IAEA Secretariat in its endeavor to enhance nuclear safety through various measures.

Sinha stressed that India is committed to harnessing the benefits of nuclear energy for electricity production while ensuring that highest priority is given to nuclear safety and security.

"India will need to rapidly raise the energy production to meet its growing energy requirements to achieve its developmental goals. The energy resources at our disposal make it imperative for us to consider all energy options," he said at the UNGA on November 5.

He said nuclear energy has a crucial role to play in achieving objectives of India's sustainable economic growth.

The country is also extensively engaged in development of nuclear technologies in fields extending beyond nuclear power, including isotope applications for improved crop varieties, crop protection and post-harvest technologies, radio-isotope applications for diagnostic and theraupetic uses in healthcare and technologies for safe drinking water.

He pointed out that currently there are 21 Nuclear Power Plant units operating in India and construction of four units of 700 MWe pressurized heavy-water reactors (PHWRs) is under progress at the Kakrapar and Rawatbhata sites in Rajasthan.

India has also setup two Voda Voda Energo Reactor (VVER) based NPPs at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, with the co-operation of Russia.

The power would be further raised to 1000 MWe in stages, increasing the nuclear power contribution in the country to about 5800 MWe. India is also setting-up 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor at Kalpakkam.

Source

Read More...

Kundankulam N-Plant starts generating power...

 

The Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu has started generating power from its Unit 1 and produced around 160 MW of Power on October 22, 2013.

Unit 1 having capacity of 1000 MW is a new type of reactor built in Russia called Voda Voda Energo Reactor (VVER). It became critical in the midnight of July 13 and since then, various tests and procedures have been conducted to resolve problems with the valves.

It is the first pressurized water reactor belonging to light water reactor category in the country. Russian authorities claim they have such reactors functioning in Ukraine, China and a few other nations. In Ukraine alone, there are six units of 1,000MW capacity at Zaporizhzhia, which are similar to that of the Kudankulam unit.

As said by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), currently out of the 1000 MW capacity of this Unit, 160 MW is connected to the grid which will be increased after checking the generators and conducting other tests.  The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has given its nod for 500MW and more power will be connected to the grid after the tests.

The significant synchronization process came as Prime Minister wound up his visit to Moscow after talks about possible future agreements for the supply of two more Russian reactors for the Kudankulam plant. While agreements have been signed for two 1,000MW units, talks are on with Russia to clinch a deal for two more 1,000MW units. When commissioned, the nuclear power plant would be the biggest in India in terms of capacity.

---

More literature on this...

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/kudankulam-nuclear-plant-starts-generating-power-connected-to-southern-grid/articleshow/24521878.cms

---

Read More...

Tamil Nadu to get additional 100 MW power from Kundankulam Nuclear Power Project...

 

As said by the Power Minister, Tamil Nadu will get additional 100 MW electricity from unit 1 of the Kundankulam Nuclear Power plant once the operations will start.

According to the initial agreement, Tamil Nadu would get 462.5MW from the first unit which attained criticality last month.

Now the total power from the unit to Tamil Nadu will be 562.5MW.

The state will get a total of 1,025MW of power against 962MW allocated earlier when the second unit is commissioned in March 2014.

The revised allocation from the total 1000 MW capacity of Unit 1 is:

• Tamil Nadu - 562.5MW
• Karnataka - 221MW
• Kerala -133MW
• Puducherry -  33.5 MW
• Unallocated - 50MW

According to sources, the Unit 1 of Kundankulam project is like start operation by the end of the current month.

 

---

More literature on this...

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-08/chennai/41200577_1_entire-power-kudankulam-nuclear-power-plant-first-unit

---

Read More...

Kundankular Nuclear Power Plant got fuel filling clearances from AERB…

Power India found that the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) has received clearances required for filling of the real fuel in the reactor from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and thereby moved one step closer to the actual commissioning.

 

AERB on May 10 permitted KNPP to open the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) Top Head, Dummy Fuel Assembly removal and the RPV inspection for unit 1, one step short of filling enriched uranium, a top plant official said.

 

"AERB has given major clearances to KNPP. Now, the plant stands one clearance before loading the real fuel. We are working towards it," KNPP Site Director R S Sundar said.

 

NPCIL chief S K Jain said during an inspection of the plant in April that after obtaining clearance, the reactor pressure vessel would be opened and the inspection of the reactor internal components taken up.

 

AERB would carry out a detailed study of these inspection reports and then give a clearance for the fuel loading, which would be the first step towards attaining criticality.

 

Commissioning work at the Indo Russian project, which had remained stalled following protests by anti-nuclear activists citing safety concerns, resumed in full swing after the Tamil Nadu Government gave its green signal in March.

 

Activists of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) revived their agitations since May 1, demanding that the government resume talks with them.

 

---

More Literature on this topic:

• http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Chennai/Kudankulam-Nuclear-Power-Plant-now-stands-one-step-away-from-fuel-loading/Article1-854642.aspx

---

Read More...

NPCIL’s Kudankulam nuclear plant to get nod for fuelling soon…

Power India found that Atomic power reactor operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) hopes to get the regulatory nod to fuel the first unit of Kudankulam nuclear power plant in a week's time, a top official said here Saturday.

The NPCIL had sought the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board's permission April 18 for loading the fuel in the nuclear project in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from here.
"We are hopeful of getting the board's nod in a week's time. We will then remove the dummy fuel (similar to the real fuel in terms of specifications but without enriched uranium) and start loading the real nuclear fuel," S.K.Jain, chairman and managing director of NPCIL, told IANS.

 

"If everything goes well, the fuel loading process will be completed by May or June," Jain said. He cited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's April 25 letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the reactor "will be fuelled in the next few days" and it will attain criticality in 20 days' time.

"We have been able to mobilise necessary workforce within three weeks following the state government's nod to go ahead with the project. The hot run of the reactor (trial run without real fuel) was 200 percent success," said Jain while speaking about the status of the first unit of the reactor.

He said the reactor's life expectancy was around 60 years and the NPCIL has the in-service testing capacity for which data was to be collected after hot run.
According to Jain, pre-service inspection will be completed in a couple of days while fine tuning of data is going on.

 

"We have completed integrated emergency core (reactor core) cooling system simulation. This is a prerequisite for fuel loading," Jain said.
Officials at the Kundankulam plant have tested more than 600 pumps and motors, 200 control panels and the same number of electrical panels and individual systems of the reactor.

Terming reports about the presence of a spring near the reactor building as a rumour, Jain said the NPCIL spent around Rs.10 million to conduct isotope hydrology test to find water reservoir near the project site and could not find even salt water.

Speaking about the safety drills conducted prior to loading nuclear fuel, Jain said they were of three kinds: Plant emergency, site emergency and off-site emergency. The first two of these drills have been completed, Jain said.

 

"The plant emergency is declared if there is any system malfunctioning. Under this drill, all the plant personnel are required to assemble at a designated place if a warning is sounded. The second drill is site emergency that applies to all those present within 1.6 km radius of the plant. They too have to assemble at a designated place on hearing a warning sound in case of an emergency," Jain said.

The off-site emergency drill is conducted by district administration officials, who are trained by the NPCIL, Jain said.

 

"We have trained the district administration officials on safety drills such as traffic diversion and informing the people about how to react in an emergency. Training on evacuating people and handling other emergency situations will be done before the reactor goes critical," Jain said.

 

 

-----------------------------

Power India – A popular blog on Indian Power Sector

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Read More...

Kundankulam Nuclear Power Project’s First unit of 1000 MW to be commissioned by end May 2012…

Power India found that first reactor of 1000 MW of the Kundankulam Nuclear Power Project will be commissioned by end of May 2012.

 

According to Mr. V. Narayansamy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO):

“Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) officials were at the Kudankulam project site and inspecting the plant. The first reactor of 1000 MW will be operational within 40 days from today. AERB was expected to give its certification to the plant in about a week after which uranium -- the fuel for power generation -- will be loaded in the plant.  We will have a trial run for 20 days after which the first reactor will start generating power."

 

Further as said by Mr. Narayanasamy,  the second unit of 1000 MW was expected to be commissioned within two months of the first one.

He said over 2000 engineers, from India and Russia, were working day and night for the purpose of power generation from the project.

The Rs 15,824-crore project had witnessed eight-month- long protests from anti-nuclear power groups and some locals who had apprehensions on the safety aspects of the plant.

The work on the plant was suspended in October last year soon after the hot-run which a process to test the reactor systems and pipelines using dummy fuel.

 

 

---------------------------------------------

Power India – A popular blog on Indian Power Sector

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Read More...