Russia’s Atomenergomash, part of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, has shipped a consignment of equipment weighing more than 1000 tonnes to India’s Kudandulam 3, Indian media reported on 21 July.
The first batch of equipment for the turbine building of Kudandulam 3 was completed and shipped out in March. Since then Atomenergomash has also sent spare parts for the scheduled maintenance of the reactor coolant pumps at Kudandulam 1&2 which are already operating. Construction of units 3 and 4 began in June 2017.
Currently, the cargo is shipped to the port of Thoothukudi, and then delivered to the site by roads,” Andrey Shevlyakov, CEO of Rosatom South Asia told The Indian Express. However, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is developing port infrastructure near the Kudankulam site, which is likely to be commissioned this year.
The equipment due for delivery comprises eight sets of moisture separator reheaters and high-pressure heaters. Moisture separator reheaters, manufactured by ZiO-Podolsk, a subsidiary of Atomenergomash, are designed to remove water condensed from the process steam to maximise thermal efficiency and reliability of the low-pressure turbine. Each reheater weighs 47 tonnes. The high-pressure heaters, each weighing 120 tonnes, pre-heat feedwater, delivered to a steam generator.
Rosatom and NPCIL are jointly constructing Kudankulam NPP. Atomenergomash is supplying the main equipment for the reactor and turbine islands. The design and construction works are the responsibility of Russia’s ASE Group, the engineering division of Rosatom.
Earlier in July, India’s Supreme Court directed NPCIL to set up a facility for safe storage used nuclear fuel at Kudankulam by 30 April 2022. The court, which had earlier set a deadline on 30 May 2018, extended the time for the NPCIL to set up the ‘Away From Reactor Facility’ (AFR). However, it clear that no further extension would be granted. The court had previously allowed the nuclear plant to begin operation subject to compliance with various safety measures, including the safe storage of the used nuclear fuel. However, it rejected an application filed by activists to shut down the plant until an AFR facility had been built. In 2013, the Supreme Court passed a judgment ordering NPCIL to develop a deep geological repository within five years to store Kudankulam used fuel.
