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Russia transfers Kudankulam N-plant to India for warranty-period operation

The project of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which is located in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, began in 1998 when the two countries signed a general agreement

© ITAR-TASS/Alexander Rumin

NEW DELHI, January 2. /TASS/. First power generating unit of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, a project of Indian-Russian cooperation in the field of nuclear power industry, has been commissioned for warranty-period operation, a source at the Nuclear Power Corporation of India told TASS on Monday.

“An act on a provisional transfer of power unit No. 1 to operation was signed by the Russian and Indian sides,” the source said. “This means that a year-long period of operation on warranty has begun.”

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“Upon the results of these twelve months, the power unit will be fully transferred to the Indian side,” the interlocutor said.

Simultaneously, the power unit will be put on stream for commercial production of electricity. “After that the electric power generated by this unit will start flowing into the Indian power grids at a fixed tariff that will be specified by the authorities,” the source said.

The project of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which is located in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, began in 1998 when the two countries signed a general agreement.

All in all, the power plant is due to have four power units, each of them with the output capacity for 1,000 MW.

The first unit was connected to the power grids on October 22, 2013. The output of electricity was raised to 90% of its capacity in May 2014 and it reached full-scale production in May 2014.

Preparations for reaching the minimum controllable power level of output are underway at unit No. 2, which means the start of the chain reaction there.

The first contract for supplies of Russian equipment for the construction of units No. 3 and No. 4 was signed during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India on December 11, 2014.

It was also then that the sides signed one more document marking the plans for construction of no less than twelve nuclear power generating units in India. It envisions cooperation in the sphere of science and research, in the nuclear fuel cycle, as well as in the use of nuclear technologies in public health, agriculture, and other fields where nuclear technologies are used.

In addition, Russia and India expressed readiness to begin joint work in the peaceful application of atomic energy in third countries.

India hopes to begin construction of power units No. 3 an No. 4 by 2016 and launch them into full operation before March 2021.

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