No
other power project in India, perhaps for the possible exception of
the Enron power project at Dabhol located on west coat of India,
which is now known as Ratnagiri Gas and Power Co, has faced as many
obstacles as Kudankulam nuclear power project on east coast of India
ever since it was conceptualized way back in 1988, when an
Inter-Governmental Agreement on the project was signed by then Prime
Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev, for the construction of two reactors at Kudankulam.
The
project remained in hibernation for a decade, firstly due to the
dissolution of the Soviet Union and later there were also objections
from the United States, on the grounds that the agreement does not
meet the 1992 terms of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Construction work
finally began only in September 2001.
Ever
since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, many groups have been opposing
the Nuclear power plant. There have been allegations that these
protests have been funded by some foreign based organizations. A fear
was systematically created in the minds of nearby villagers for their
safety, which resulted in intense protests by fishermen and other
river folk against the power project. Even a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) was also filed against the government’s civil
nuclear programme at the Supreme Court.
On May
6th 2013, in a landmark judgment, Supreme court of India gave its
green signal to the commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power
plant in Tamil Nadu. Dismissing a host of PILs challenging the Madras
High Court’s earlier order in favour of the plant, the apex court
termed the operationalisation of Kudankulam nuclear power plant as
necessary for the country’s growth. The court said in their
judgement, while stressing that development of nuclear energy is
important for India: “Kudankulam plant is safe and secure and it is
necessary for larger public interest and economic growth of the
country.” Most of the controversy subsided after the judgment. The
apex court also ordered that the plant should not be made operational
unless the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and the Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE) accord final clearance for commissioning of the unit “ensuring
the quality of various components and systems because their
reliability is of vital importance.”
After
clearance of the court, the reactor was loaded with fuel assemblies
consisting of 163 uranium fuel bundles containing about 80 tonnes of
uranium oxide. At the same time according to court's orders, the
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) carried out a thorough review
and finally gave its nod for controlled fission process or “first
approach to criticality” (FAC) for the first unit of the plant on
11th
July 2013. After this, towards midnight, under careful watch of four
operators, Boron control rods were removed to allow boron dilution,
which would allow neutron concentration to go up and start nuclear
fission, generating heat. The first unit at Kundankulam Nuclear Power
station began process of multiplication of neutron in the reactor or
in other words, attained criticality at 11.05 PM on 13th
July 2013. All its parameters remained normal.
Clearance
for the First approach to criticality, however, does not mean that
the plant would be soon commissioned. Several low-power tests will
have to be carried out to verify the conformance of the reactor’s
characteristics to design objectives. After the AERB reviews the
results of the tests, then only clearance for the next stage of
commissioning would be given, which would entail a phased increase in
the power level of the reactor. There is no fixed time frame for
this.
Plant
director however says that the power production would now be
increased in stages. In the first stage, the 1,000-MW plant would be
synchronized with the southern grid with 400 MW in 30-45 days time
span. Power production would subsequently be stepped up to 50 per
cent, 75 per cent, 90 per cent, and finally 100 per cent.
Kundankulam
plant, built at an estimated cost of INR136.15 billion (US$3
billion) is the 21st nuclear power reactor in India. When it goes on
stream, India’s total capacity of nuclear power will go up to 5,780
MW. According to Nuclear Power Corporation of India release, the
reactor incorporated enhanced safety features in line with the
current international standards. “These are Generation III +
reactors incorporating a combination of active safety systems as well
as passive safety systems like Passive Heat Removal System (PHRS),
Hydrogen Re-Combiner, Core Catcher, Hydro Accumulators, and Quick
Boron Injection System.
Whatever
the skeptics may say, to meet its long term power needs, India has no
choice but to resort to nuclear power. Many of the gas based power
plants built in the country, such as Dabhol plant, are running idle
because power produced there is so expensive because of the current
gas prices, that there are no buyers. Attaining criticality at
Kudankulam is perhaps another important milestone for India.
16
June 2013
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