Kudankulam nuclear power plant
Why in news:
- India and Russia recently signed some “very important” agreements which deals with the construction of the future powergenerating units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
- External Affairs Minister recently went on a fiveday visit to Russia, where he signed the key agreement relating to Nuclear power plant.
- Apart from the above agreement, he has signed agreements in the areas of medicines, pharmaceutical substances and medical devices with his counterpart who is Deputy Prime minister of Russia.
- External Affairs Minister also described Russia as a “special partner” in selected areas such as defence, nuclear power and space.
About Kudankulam nuclear power plant:
- It is India’s largest nuclear power plant which is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia.
- The construction of the plant began in March 2002.
- From February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant has been steadily operating at its design capacity which is 1,000 MW.
- According to Russian state media, the plant is expected to operate at full capacity in 2027.
- The reactors in this power plant are pressurised water reactor of Russian design, model VVER-1000/V-412 also known as AES-92.
- Thermal capacity of the plant is about 3,000 MW and gross electrical capacity of the plant is 1,000 MW with a net capacity of about 917 MW.
- Both the units of the power plant are water-cooled, water-moderated power reactors.
