India, Kudankulam (NPP): description, history and features

Kudankulam NPP (India), whose commercial operation began on December 31, 2013, was at the design and construction stage for 26 years and sustained a seven-month blockade by protestors to become the largest nuclear power plant in the country.

Record-breaking construction

There are nuclear power plant projects that last forever, and Kudankulam, an NPP, which is a prime example of one of them. So why was she given the palm tree? This should be done at least because of the number of problems that the station managed to overcome. The development of the first power unit began in 1988, but the project survived the collapse of the Soviet Union, international sanctions, endless legal obstacles, as well as local protests that at times turned into riots. Kudankulam is a nuclear power plant known for its first modern reactor built in India using foreign technologies.

Since 1974, when an atomic bomb was tested in the country, until 2008 India was not allowed to international trade in nuclear technology under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to which it did not join. Tests led to the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a multinational body comprising the majority of the world's nuclear powers , which was created to control the international trade in nuclear technologies, both military and civilian.

Energy hunger

In the conditions of prohibition of foreign aid, India was forced to use the achievements of domestic nuclear power. Exceptions were two power units in Tarapur, built by General Electric in 1969, and two more CANDUs in Rajasthan, the construction of which was laid in the early 1970s. Both nuclear power plants operated on uranium imported under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

16 other reactors in India were developed on their own and worked on heavy water. Limited uranium reserves in the country have become a source of constant problems with fuel supplies for local nuclear power plants. It was necessary to develop a technology for processing fuel, as well as to implement a longer-term plan for the use of large amounts of thorium - about 13% of known deposits of this chemical element is in India.

Difficulties in the development of nuclear power (all the country's reactors have a capacity of 202 MW or less) forced its leadership to seek ways to bypass international sanctions. The result of one such initiative was Kudankulam.

Unlucky project

In November 1988, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev signed an agreement on the turnkey construction of two nuclear power units in Tamil Nadu using the Soviet WWER reactor. The USSR had to build a station and provide it with fuel, which would be returned after production.

But the project was confronted with geopolitical obstacles, as the USSR in 1988 was already beginning to crack at the seams. The following year, the countries of Eastern Europe, under Soviet domination, defended their independence, and in 1991 the Soviet Union itself collapsed. Although the Russian Federation assumed the obligations of the USSR under the agreement on the Kudankulam NPP, the economic crisis that swept Russia in the 1990s between 1990 and 1995 reduced its economy by 50%, which meant its inability Continue the implementation of the project. The dispute between Russia and India on this occasion caused further delays in the implementation of the project. The revision of the treaty with the NSG in 1992 brought further problems, since the US argued that the project did not comply with the new rules. Various Indian officials at the time called him stillborn.

Second wind

But the project of the nuclear power plant in India "Kudankulam" rebelled from the ashes in the most unexpected circumstances. Tensions with Pakistan in 1998 led to a series of successive nuclear tests, which led to widespread international condemnation and sanctions.

Nevertheless, within a month, Russia decided to revitalize the project with a new agreement, signed in June 1998. The regulations for the development of the Kudankulam NPP included the design and construction of two 1,000-megawatt WWER-1000 light water reactors by the Russian state company Atomstroyexport, and the Indian company Nuclear Power Corp. (NPCI) was assigned the role of observer for the progress of work. The deal was valued at $ 2.8 billion, and Russia provided a long-term loan of 64.16 billion rupees. The new agreement also gave India the right to process spent fuel if Atomstroyexport provides such an opportunity.

Fast start

Construction, conducted by the largest Indian company Larsen & Toubro, began in March 2002. Unlike similar projects of Atomstroyexport, only a few Russian engineers were present on the spot. Almost all the work was done by local firms and specialists. Initially, there were all signs that the facility would be completed ahead of schedule in December 2007. At this pace, construction was going on until 2004. To support it and facilitate the delivery of heavy components, a port was built nearby in early 2004 that allowed large-scale equipment to be transported directly on a barge from vessels anchored nearby.

But the rapid pace was not maintained.

Set of obstacles

The first problems began with delays in the delivery of equipment and components from Russia, as well as problems related to the plans provided. This caused a slowdown in construction, and, in the end, an annual lag behind the schedule. The largest facility at the first power unit was completed in 2010, and in July it began testing with fictitious fuel loading. Shortly thereafter, the project collided with other, more serious obstacles - literally.

Despite the widespread shortage of electricity in the state of Tamil Nadu, the opposition to construction began to grow as it approached its completion. The Popular Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), a coalition of local villagers and fishermen in 2011 after the March disaster at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan, began agitation against the station. The shoreline of Tamil Nadu suffered from a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, which caused fears of a recurrence of the Japanese disaster.

Blocking of nuclear power plants

In September, before the first loading of fuel planned for the autumn and start-up in December, the construction site was blocked. On September 22, the state cabinet adopted a resolution requiring the suspension of all works until the fears about the safety of the station were clarified.

Until March next year, protesters skipped no more than 50 workers per shift, which made normal work impossible. The number of demonstrators sometimes reached several thousand people.

Launch of the first stage

The protests were undermined by the energy crisis in the state in the spring of next year, caused by a shortage of capacity of 4 GW. Before the threat of mass outages, the Cabinet canceled its previous decision and called for the prompt commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant, however, was involved in the litigation, despite the Supreme Court's decision in September 2012, which rejected the blocking of nuclear fuel loading .

At the same time, protests against the station intensified, sometimes turning into violence, which required the presence of thousands of policemen to protect the station. The trial against the nuclear power plant was not completed until May 2013, when the Supreme Court finally closed the case. Nevertheless, delays due to protests and construction problems, increased the cost of the project by $ 1 billion.

The first commissioning of unit No. 1 took place in July 2013. The low-power tests continued for the following months, and on 100% the power unit was withdrawn on June 9. The commercial use of the nuclear power plant began on December 21, 2014. The personnel of the nuclear power plant Kudankulam (India) "Atomtekhenergo" was trained.

Second gigawatt

The second power unit of the Kudankulam NPP with a capacity of 1,000 MW was launched on July 10, 2016. It became the 22nd nuclear reactor in India and the second water-water reactor.

After that within 45 days the power unit started to produce 400 MW of electricity and in August was connected to the network. The generation of electricity will gradually increase to 500, 750, 900 and 1000 MW. After the addition of 1,000 MW of the second stage to the southern network, India's installed nuclear power capacity will increase from the current 5780 to 6780 MW.

According to NPCIL, the first launch took place after confirming the compliance of the system characteristics with all the criteria and meeting the requirements stipulated by the laws and regulations of the Nuclear Energy Regulatory Council (AERB).

NPCIL assures that "Kudankulam" is a nuclear power plant that is distinguished by its expanded security functions that comply with current international standards. Generation III + reactors combine active and passive safety systems such as passive heat removal system, hydrogen recombiners, core traps, hydraulic accumulators and fast boron injection systems.

Misty prospects

Kudankulam NPP, the commissioning of the second stage of which is planned for early 2017, subject to the continuation of cooperation between India and Russia, can be expanded to 6-8 power units. A total of 20 similar reactors are planned throughout the country.

The agreement for the third and fourth power units was signed in April 2014 in the amount of 330 billion rupees (5.5 billion US dollars). Its implementation was postponed due to a lack of compliance with the 2010 law on civil liability for nuclear damage, which gives the NPCI the right to claim compensation from the supplier of the nuclear power plant in the event of an accident caused by faulty equipment.

This potential liability disappointed foreign companies trying to do business in India, despite the agreement of 2008 with the NSG, which opened the country for international trade in nuclear materials.

Compromise solution

Negotiations between India and the Russian "Rosatom", which lasted four years, have prepared a framework allowing the deal to continue. Until now, Russia is the only country that has reached an agreement, according to which the Indian state insurance company General Insurance Co. Will evaluate each component of the reactors and collect 20-year insurance premiums to cover potential damage. The cost of new power units is designed to reflect this new approach.

Observers are not sure that these ambitious plans will bear fruit, since questions unique to the Indian government and the judiciary arise, and politics can delay the wide deployment of nuclear technologies. Nevertheless, the success of Kudankulam NPP is the basis for optimism in the country, whose energy sector badly needs atomic energy.