Things are going on smoothly and the loading of enriched uranium fuel into the first reactor at Kudankulam is expected to begin by the middle of this month.
This was stated by Chairman and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) K.C. Purohit.
“Our inspection [of the reactor pressure vessel] is almost complete,” he said from Mumbai. “We will submit our observations and reports to a committee of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and load the fuel based on its decision.”
“The day is not far off” for the fuel assemblies to be loaded into the reactor pressure vessel and it would begin by mid-August.
The vessel is the heart of the reactor that will house 163 fuel assemblies. Each assembly is 4.57 metres long, comprising fuel bundles. The two Russian reactors at Kudankulam, which will use light water as both coolant and moderator, willgenerate 1,000-MW each. Russia will supply fuel for the lifetime of the reactors. It has supplied all equipment such as the RPV, steam generators, turbines and core catcher for thereactors, while the NPCIL built the two units. The first unit is expected to reach criticality by September-end.
Mr. Purohit took over as NPCIL chief on June 25, 2012.
He was earlier Director (Projects) in the NPCIL and worked as both Project Director and Station Director of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project.
