16 Jul (NucNet): India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has granted a licence for “regular operation” of the Kudankulam-1 nuclear power reactor and siting consent for four new indigenous reactors on a greenfield site in northern India.
The AERB said Kudankulam-1, which began commercial operation on 31 December 2014, is one of two Russia VVER units being built in Tamil Nadu, southern India, as part of an agreement between India and Russia signed in 1988. Commercial operation is when the plant supplier officially hands over responsibility for continued operation to the operator.
The licence for regular operation follows “in-depth reviews over many years” of the safety aspects related to design, construction and commissioning, the AERB said. The reviews included checks to ensure that quality assurance norms have been followed and commissioned systems meet the criteria for safe operation, the AERB said.
The 917-megawatt unit, India’s first pressurised water reactor unit, reached first criticality in July 2013 and was connected to the grid in October 2013. Commissioning was delayed because of protests and legal action following the March 2011 accident at Fukushima-Daiichi.
The AERB also said the construction of Kudankulam-2 is complete and the plant is undergoing “commissioning activities”.
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said construction of two more units at Kudankulam is scheduled to begin either this year or in 2016. Rosatom said it is planning to build 25 reactors in India.
The AERB also announced that it had given siting consent for four new 630-megawatt indigenous pressurised heavy water reactors at a nuclear station to be called Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana in the state of Haryana, northern India.
The reactors will be the same as those under construction at Kakrapar-3 and -4, and Rajasthan-7 and -8.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, India has 21 reactors in commercial operation and six under construction.
