Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project
Introduction:
At present, India is the sixth largest energy consumer in the world and is projected to emerge as the fourth largest consumer after the United States, China and Japan in the coming decades. India’s commercial energy basket is currently dominated by coal (53 percent); oil (31 percent) and gas (8 percent). Meeting increasing energy demands will remain one of the major issues for India in the 21st century owing to high dependency on energy imports. Nuclear Energy offers both opportunities and challenges for any aspiring countries including India. Without nuclear power, achieving energy security will be much more difficult.
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project:
An Inter-Governmental Agreement on the project was signed on November 20, 1988 between India and Russia for the construction of two reactors. The project remained in limbo for a decade due to the political and economic upheaval in Russia after the post-1991 Soviet breakup. There were also objections from the United States, on the grounds that the agreement does not meet the 1992 terms of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The cost to India was estimated to be Rs.13, 615 Crores in 2001. Two 1000 MW reactors of the VVER-1000 model are being constructed by the Nuclear Power corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Currently the first will be scheduled to start operation in December 2011 and the second one was scheduled for March 2012.
In 2008, negotiation on building additional four third generation VVER-1200 reactors at the site began. Though the capacity of these reactors has not been declared, it is expected that the capacity of each reactor will be 1700 MW. The new reactors would bring the total capacity of the power plant to 9200 MW. The reactors have some advanced safety features like passive heat removal system, double containment, Core Catcher, and hydrogen re-combiner instead of conventional systems.
Merits of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant: * Twenty-five
Introduction:
At present, India is the sixth largest energy consumer in the world and is projected to emerge as the fourth largest consumer after the United States, China and Japan in the coming decades. India’s commercial energy basket is currently dominated by coal (53 percent); oil (31 percent) and gas (8 percent). Meeting increasing energy demands will remain one of the major issues for India in the 21st century owing to high dependency on energy imports. Nuclear Energy offers both opportunities and challenges for any aspiring countries including India. Without nuclear power, achieving energy security will be much more difficult.
Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project:
An Inter-Governmental Agreement on the project was signed on November 20, 1988 between India and Russia for the construction of two reactors. The project remained in limbo for a decade due to the political and economic upheaval in Russia after the post-1991 Soviet breakup. There were also objections from the United States, on the grounds that the agreement does not meet the 1992 terms of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The cost to India was estimated to be Rs.13, 615 Crores in 2001. Two 1000 MW reactors of the VVER-1000 model are being constructed by the Nuclear Power corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Currently the first will be scheduled to start operation in December 2011 and the second one was scheduled for March 2012.
In 2008, negotiation on building additional four third generation VVER-1200 reactors at the site began. Though the capacity of these reactors has not been declared, it is expected that the capacity of each reactor will be 1700 MW. The new reactors would bring the total capacity of the power plant to 9200 MW. The reactors have some advanced safety features like passive heat removal system, double containment, Core Catcher, and hydrogen re-combiner instead of conventional systems.
Merits of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant: * Twenty-five