The Unit 2 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu, India which is undergoing maintenance to restart operation during the second week of November, S.V. Jinna, Site Director, KKNPP told IANS.
“The Unit 2 is expected to restart generation in two weeks time, say around November 15,” he told IANS.
He also said some of the equipment for the upcoming Units 3 and 4 has arrived from Russia. According to Jinna, construction work is going on for the these units.
KKNPP was shut down in August 4. It was originally expected to restart generation on September 4. However, the restart date was postponed. “We overhauled the systems and hence the delay,” Jinna said.
Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district has two 1,000 MW power units, built with Russian equipment. Two more units of similar size are being built at Kudankulam.
The current installed nuclear power capacity in India comprises of 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW. The present share of nuclear energy is about 3.2% in the current financial year 2016-17 (up to Feb-2017).
India has accorded ‘in principle’ approval of five sites for locating 28 nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of about 32000 MW.
In addition, there are presently nine reactors under construction with a total capacity of 6700 MW. The Government has also recently accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for twelve reactors with a total capacity of 9000 MW.
