Four VVER reactors under construction at Tamil Nadu site
Russia’s nuclear equipment manufacturer Atommash has shipped the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) and the full set of four steam generators for India’s Kudankulam-5 nuclear power plant under construction in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The five components are among the largest to be installed at the plant’s nuclear island.
The steam generators, each weighing about 355 tonnes, act as heat exchangers where heated water from the nuclear reaction is used to produce steam to power the plant turbines, which in turn generate electricity.
The equipment was shipped from Atommash’s factory in Volgodonsk, southwest Russia. It will make its way to the St Petersburg, from where it will leave for India.
Construction of Kudankulam-5, a Russia-designed VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor unit, began in June 2021.
There are three other reactor units of the same design under construction at the site – Kudankulam-3 and -4 since 2017 and Kudankulam-6 since 2021.
Kudankulam-1 and -2 began commercial operation in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
