Power production at Kudankulam in two months

NAGPUR: The production of nuclear power from the first stage reactor at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu will be delayed a bit more, with the first light water or pressurized water reactor starting production in another two months, sometime in August. However, experts are not seeing it as a delay; they claim the procedural steps are just taking some time. The second reactor at Kudankulam is expected to start power production in around six months.

Retired chairman of Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) Srikumar Banerjee, now Homi Bhabha Chair Professor in the department of atomic energy (DAE), said that the first light water or pressurized water reactor (PWR) at Kudankulam will start generating in two months, with the second one producing by the year end.

Banerjee was in the city to inaugurate the two-day national workshop on 'recent advances in geology of Dongargarh-Kotri-belt in Central India and its mineral potential'. It has been organized jointly by Atomic Mineral Directorate for Exploration and Research and the Gondwana Geological Society.

An established nuclear scientist himself Banerjee knows the intricacies of commissioning and functioning of a reactor. He explained that the reactor was running on dummy fuel till recently, after which it was put to nuclear heating. After this step the Atomic Energy Regulator Board (AERB) will inspect it and clear it for next step, which is approach to criticality.

The nuclear fuel loading will begin in some time and the reactor will become functional in two months. This means the first target of producing 2,000MW power from PWRs will be completed in six months. In the next stage, four reactors of 700MW will begin staggered power production one after other in 2016. This will be followed by the first 500MW fast breeder reactor (FBR). The FBRs are being brought in with support from three countries, Kazakhstan, Russia and French suppliers. The government is also contemplating setting up four more new reactors, including the third stage at Kudankulam and Jaitapur.

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