From idyllic settings to
boiling cauldron to serving the Nation – Kudankulam has seen it all……. Half a century ago, this place lying in
Tirunelveli district was an obscure place, not known to the rest of India. It gained prominence after the Nuclear Power
station - Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) coming up over there. A Plant of such strategic importance and
magnitude did not spring up overnight.
It was signed by the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
on November 20, 1988 after being conceived in mid 1980s.
In July 2013, came the good news of the country’s first 1,000 MW pressurised water
reactor at Kundankulam in Tamil Nadu attaining criticality. Now more happy news
with the news of the first 1,000-MWe unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power
Project, now but one stage away from commission, and on Tuesday it getting synchronised with the
southern regional grid. Initially, at 2.45 a.m., the first reactor
generated 75MWe and gradually notched up 160 MWe. Subsequently, it was
successfully transmitted to the southern grid at Abhishekapatti on the
outskirts of Tirunelveli after the KKNNP project authorities got the ‘connecting
password’ from Bangalore. The Hindu
reports that the process was halted at 5.15 a.m. so engineers could study the
behaviour of the reactor’s ‘integrated systems’, the turbine and the generator
— a routine procedure.
“The power will be further
raised to 500 MWe, 750 MWe and 1,000 MWe in stages. At every stage, various
tests are conducted and the technical parameters verified. Based on the results
of the tests at each stage and with AERB [Atomic Energy Regulatory Board]
clearances, subsequent stages are reached,” said a press release issued by Site
Director, KKNPP, R.S. Sundar. “Though the reactor will continue to generate
steam, the turbine will not be allowed to function as it has been stopped [to
enable engineers] to study its performance during and after synchronisation.
The functioning of the valves and the pipelines connected to the turbine is
being evaluated. Moreover, the functioning of the generator is also being
reviewed. All these tests and readings are being submitted to the AERB online
and clearances being obtained then and there. So far, every part of the
reactor, turbine and generator has performed extremely well. We are very much
satisfied,” Mr. Sundar told The Hindu.
KKNPP
sources said the southern grid would get 500 MWe from the first reactor before
this weekend. So from 1988 to date providing energy succour, Kudankulam has
come a long way indeed ~ amidst protests by groups of people, supported by some
sinister designs.
The first reactor, which
attained criticality at 11.50 p.m. on July 13, was expected to attain its full
generation capacity by the end of October. However, fine-tuning of the
Russian-origin components delayed commencement of power-generation. Now on, Tamil Nadu will generate 1,440 MW of
nuclear power, the most in the country, and the beginning has been made now. Tamil Nadu is the first state to have nuclear power plants
in two places — Kalpakkam and Kudankulam. Tamil Nadu will displace Maharashtra,
which has four reactors with a total capacity of 1,400MW, from the top spot.
Other states with significant nuclear power capacity are Rajasthan with six
reactors capable of generating 1,180MW, and Karnataka with four reactors with a
total capacity of 880MW. Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat each have two reactors of
880MW. With Kudankulam, India will increase its nuclear power capacity to
5,780MW from 4,780MW.
TOi reports that as per
the original agreement between the beneficiaries of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka,
Kerala and Puducherry, Nuclear Power Corporation was to sell the power at Rs
3.50 per unit. “We are planning to revise the price at which the power will be
sold,” said Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project site director R S Sundar.
More than Kudankulam, some newspapers have been
devoting more space for the orchestrated protests from Idinthiakarai…. As one
could recall, the agitations at some point turned violent too…….. betraying the
inherent contradictions of a “peaceful” “Gandhian” movement that the
anti-Kudankulam agitation claimed itself to be. The agitation in between
changed colours and a 4000-strong group of people moved towards the plant
threatening to disrupt its activity, preventing engineers from going in and
some had the audacity to question the knowledge and understanding of honourable
APJ asking whether he was a nuclear scientists ~ the Questioners had no
knowledge of Nuke was conveniently forgotten.
Their protests have been prominently covered by some newspapers ~ and
many people know it all……….
Nation is happy
that it is functional and the first current is energizing the Nation.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
23rd Oct 2o13