Chennai: The second 1000 mw unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant will commence operation in next couple of weeks said Sekhar Basu, secretary of department of atomic energy.
Speaking to reporters at Chennai airport, Dr Basu said that works are underway to commence generation in the second unit of the KKNPP in the coming weeks.
The work of fuel loading into the second unit of KKNPP which began in the second week of May, was successfully completed with all 163 fuel assemblies have been loaded into the core.
A series of inspections and tests will be conducted under the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supervision before the work will start to achieve criticality.
Criticality for a nuclear reactor denotes the start of the fission process. When asked about the status of work on the setting up of the third and fourth reactors in the Kudankulam, he said that the works have already began to erect new reactors there. "The new reactors will be commissioned in five to seven years," he said, adding that with its plan setup another two reactors, the Kundankulam nuke plant altogether would generate 6000 mw and the host state would get 50 per cent of the total generation as its share. To a query on the local people and fishermen apprehension over the safety of the nuclear facility, he reiterated that the plant has world class safety facility.
