Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs Chinmaya IAS Academy – Current Affairs
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The first reactor of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP), which was stopped on August 1 for the mandatory third annual fuel outage, resumed power generation at 12.35 p.m. on Saturday. The loading of fuel and associated maintenance work were completed in 108 days. After the reactor ran for about 7,000 hours after the second fuel outage, it was stopped on August 1 for the planned third fuel outage. The guidelines state that at the end of a fuel cycle, the used fuel should be replaced with fresh fuel assemblies. In the process, 33% of the spent fuel was removed robotically and fresh enriched uranium fuel bundles were inserted into the reactor. The unloading of spent fuel from the reactor’s core and the loading of fresh fuel assemblies are normally completed with the help of fully automated refuelling equipment. During the third fuel outage, of the 163 enriched uranium fuel assemblies in the 1,000-MW VVER (water-cooled water-moderated) reactor, 53 spent fuel assemblies were removed and replaced with fresh bundles, officials said. The quantum of power being generated by the 1,000-MW reactor would be increased in a phased manner and this process would be dotted with mandatory stops and subsequent tests at regular intervals before taking the reactor to its maximum generation capacity. Construction of units Meanwhile, a Salem-based firm, identified for pit excavation, consolidation, confirmatory sub-soil investigation and concrete levelling course for the main plant buildings and structures of KKNPP units 5 and 6, commenced work on Saturday. The Rs. 51 crore-worth contract work would be completed in 15 months. Construction of KKNPP’s 5th and 6th reactors would be carried out at an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore, and Russia, the technology supplier, would provide half of the funding as loan.
