The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has given clearance to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for the second unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant to go critical, AERB Chairman S.A. Bhardwaj said.
“We reviewed the safety aspects of the plant. We checked parts of various systems that would be used in the plant, checked the reports submitted by the NPCIL. We are in agreement with the NPCIL on the safety aspects of Kudankulam plant’s second unit. It is up to the NPCIL to decide when they can start the process to go critical,” the AERB chairman told The Hindu on Wednesday.
Confirming that the clearance had been given, a senior official from NPCIL said steps were being taken to achieve criticality of the second unit. The VVER-type reactor, which has 1,000 MWe capacity, was scheduled to begin commercial operation in December 2008, but due to various factors there was a delay. As of May this year, the progress was 98.94 per cent.
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The cumulative generation of power from the first unit till May this year since the unit went commercial in December 2014 was 5,777 million units. The first unit took considerable time to go critical, as there were strong protests against the project by anti-nuclear activists residing in areas around the plant.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa during her visit to New Delhi had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite the commissioning of the second unit.
“Tamil Nadu will be able to utilise 562 MW from the plant, if it is commissioned early,” she had observed in her memorandum.
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