Kudankulam NPP (India), the commercial operation of the first power unit of which began on December 31, 2013, was 26 years under design and construction and withstood a seven-month blockade by protesters to become the largest nuclear power plant in the country.
Record unfinished building
There are projects of nuclear power plants that last forever, and Kudankulam - a nuclear power plant, which is a prime example of one of them. So why is she given the palm? This is worth doing 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, which at times turned into riots. Kudankulam is a nuclear power plant known for its first modern reactor built in India using foreign technology.
From 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 Atomic Weapons, to which it did not join. The tests led to the formation of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a multinational body that includes most of the world's nuclear powers , which was created to control the international trade in nuclear technology, both military and civilian.
Energy hunger
In the context of the ban on foreign aid, India was forced to use the achievements of domestic nuclear energy. The 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 control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
16 other reactors in India were developed on their own and operated on heavy water. Limited uranium reserves in the country have become a source of persistent fuel supply problems for local nuclear power plants. It was necessary to develop a technology for fuel processing, as well as to implement a longer-term plan for the use of large reserves of thorium - approximately 13% of the known deposits of this chemical element are in India.
Difficulties in the development of nuclear energy (all reactors in the country have a capacity of 202 MW or less) forced its leadership to seek ways to circumvent international sanctions. The result of one of these initiatives 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 VVER reactor. The USSR was to build a station and provide it with fuel, which would return after production.
But the project was faced with geopolitical obstacles, since 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 gripped Russia in the 1990s, between 1990 and 1995, reduced its economy by 50%, which meant its inability continue the project. The dispute between Russia and India over this issue has led to further delays in the implementation of the project. The revision of the contract with NSG in 1992 introduced further problems, as the United States claimed that the draft did not comply with the new rules. Various Indian officials at that time called him stillborn.
Second wind
But the Kudankulam nuclear power plant project in India rose from the ashes under 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 revive the project with a new agreement, signed in June 1998. The development schedule for Kudankulam NPP provided for the design and construction of two 1000-MW VVER-1000 light water reactors by the Russian state-owned Atomstroyexport company, and the Indian company Nuclear Power Corp. (NPCI) was assigned the role of observer of 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 reprocess spent fuel if Atomstroyexport provides such an opportunity.
Fast start
Construction, carried out by the largest Indian company Larsen & Toubro, began in March 2002. Unlike similar Atomstroyexport projects, only a few Russian engineers were present at the site. Almost all work was carried out by local firms and specialists. At first, there were all signs that the facility would be completed ahead of schedule in December 2007. At this pace, construction went on until 2004. To support it and facilitate the delivery of heavy components, a port was built nearby in early 2004, which made it possible to transport bulky equipment directly to the barge from ships that anchored nearby.
But the fast pace could not be maintained.
Many obstacles
The first problems began with delays in the supply of equipment and components from Russia, as well as problems associated with the plans provided. This caused a slowdown in construction, and, in the end, an annual lag behind the schedule. The largest construction at the first power unit was completed in 2010, and in July, testing began with the loading of fictitious fuel. Soon after, the project ran into other, more serious obstacles - literally.
Despite the widespread shortage of electricity in Tamil Nadu, the opposition to construction began to grow as it approached its completion. The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), a coalition of local villagers and fishermen in 2011 after the disaster in March at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in Japan, began campaigning against the station. The coastline of Tamil Nadu was hit by a tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004, which raised concerns about a recurrence of the Japanese disaster.
NPP blocking
In September, before the first fuel load planned for fall and launch in December, the blocking of the construction site began. On September 22, the State Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution requiring the suspension of all work until clarification of concerns about the safety of the station.
Until March next year, protesters allowed no more than 50 workers per shift, which made normal work impossible. The number of demonstrators sometimes reached several thousand people.
First Stage Launch
The protests were undermined by an energy crisis in the state in the spring of next year, caused by a lack of capacity of 4 GW. In the face of the threat of mass blackouts, the cabinet reversed its previous decision and called for the early commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. The nuclear power plant, however, was involved in the lawsuit, despite a Supreme Court decision in September 2012 that rejected blocking the loading of nuclear fuel.
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 start-up of unit No. 1 took place in July 2013. Low-power tests continued over the next months, and the unit was brought out to 100% capacity on June 9. Commercial use of the nuclear power plant began on December 21, 2014. Atomtekhenergo trained personnel at the Kudankulam NPP (India).
Second gigawatt
The second power unit of the Kudankulam NPP with a capacity of 1000 MW was launched on July 10, 2016. He became the 22nd nuclear reactor in India and the second pressurized water.
After that, within 45 days, the power unit began to generate 400 MW of electricity and in August it was connected to the network. Electricity generation will gradually increase to 500, 750, 900 and 1000 MW. After adding 1,000 MW of the second stage to the southern grid, the installed capacity of India’s nuclear energy will increase from the current 5,780 to 6,780 MW.
According to NPCIL, the first launch took place after confirming that the system characteristics met all the criteria and fulfilling the requirements stipulated by the legislation and regulatory acts of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Council (AERB).
NPCIL assures that Kudankulam is a nuclear power plant that has advanced safety features that comply with current international standards. Generation III + reactors combine active and passive safety systems, such as a passive heat removal system, hydrogen recombiners, core traps, hydraulic accumulators and fast boron injection systems.
Foggy prospects
Kudankulam NPP, the commissioning of the second phase of which is planned at the beginning of 2017, subject to continued cooperation between India and Russia, can be expanded to 6–8 power units. The construction of 20 such reactors is planned throughout the country.
The agreement on 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 delayed due to non-compliance with the Law on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage 2010, which gives NPCI the right to demand compensation from the supplier of the nuclear power plant in the event of an accident caused by faulty equipment.
This potential responsibility has disappointed foreign companies trying to do business in India, despite a 2008 agreement with NSG that opened the country to international trade in nuclear materials.
Compromise solution
The negotiations between India and the Russian Rosatom, which lasted four years, prepared a framework to continue the deal. Until now, Russia is the only country that has reached an agreement under which the Indian state insurance company General Insurance Co. will evaluate each component of the reactors and charge 20-year insurance premiums to cover potential damage. The cost of new units is designed to reflect this new approach.
Observers are not convinced that these ambitious plans will bear fruit, as issues arise that are unique to the Indian government and the judiciary, and policies may delay the widespread deployment of nuclear technology. Nevertheless, the success of the Kudankulam NPP is the basis for optimism in a country whose energy sector is in dire need of atomic energy.