The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) on Saturday attained full capacity, becoming the first nuclear plant in the country to generate 1,000 MWe of power.

“At 13:20 hours on Saturday, Unit I of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant started generating its full capacity of 1,000 MWe of power. We will run the unit for some more time before we stop it to conduct some tests as mandated by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board,” Site Director R S Sundar said.

He also said that out of all the sources of power available in the country, only the KNPP had the capacity to produce such a large amount from a single unit.

“If you take other plants, they can produce only around 540 MWe of power. In the case of thermal plants it could go up to 660 or 680 MWe. Another 700 MWe unit of the KNPP is presently under construction. KNPP has become the first unit in the country to produce 1,000 MWe of power,” he said. 

After conforming to all design requirements and meeting all stipulated statutory regulations, Sundar said that “power has been achieved 100 per cent”. 

He made the statement after the AERB gave its final clearance after a report from its observer’s team and safety review committee, besides Russian specialists. India’s 21st nuclear power reactor, the KNPP, is also the country’s first pressurised water reactor under the “light water”category, Sundar said.

“KNPP Units 1 and 2 are VVER-1000 type reactors that were set up at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu with the technical cooperation of the Russian Federation.”

He said the KNPP reactors incorporate enhanced safety features that ensure the highest level of safety in line with international standards.

“These are Generation III+ reactors incorporating a combination of active and passive safety systems like a passive heat removal system, hydrogen re-combiners, core catcher, hydro accumulators and quick boron injection system. This combination of multi-layered safety features ensures the safety of the plant, public and environment,” he said.

Till date, the cumulative generation from Unit 1 of KNPP is around 1,900 million units and has been contributing to power-starved Tamil Nadu since October.

The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd collaborated with Russia to set up two 1,000 MWe reactors of the KNPP, which is located in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.