Putin's Big Nuclear Commitment To Take Kudankulam Plant To Full Capacity

Russia is collaborating with India at Kudankulam, the largest nuclear plant in India, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a joint press briefing alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi today. Two of the six reactors at the nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu are already operational, with Moscow committed to ensuring that it reaches its full capacity.

"We're conducting a flagship project to build the largest Indian nuclear power plant, Kudankulam. Two out of six reactor units have already been connected to the energy network, and four are still under construction. Getting this nuclear power plant to full power output will make an impressive contribution to the energy requirements of India," Putin said.

His remarks followed a statement by Russia's state-run nuclear corporation, Rosatom, confirming the delivery of its first consignment of nuclear fuel for the first loading of the third reactor at the Kudankulam plant.

Putin is in India on a two-day visit during which he and PM Modi discussed a range of bilateral issues, including expanding cooperation in the energy sector.

"We presume that we could talk about the construction of small modular reactors and floating nuclear power plants, and also non-energy applications of nuclear technologies, for example, in medicine or agriculture," said the Russian leader.

Russia is a reliable supply of oil, gas, coal, and everything required for the development of India's energy, the president added, assuring uninterrupted shipments of fuel for the fast-growing Indian economy.

The Kudankulam nuclear plant, located near the southern tip of the country, is set to have six VVER-1000 reactors with a total capacity of 6,000 MW. The first two reactors were connected to the power grid in 2013 and 2016, while the remaining four are still under construction.

Russia has been supplying uranium fuel to the nuclear plant on a long-term basis. Its nuclear corporation, Rosatom, delivered fuel assemblies for the third reactor, produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, on a cargo flight today.

The complete delivery will take a total of seven flights from Russia, being carried out under a contract signed in 2024 for the fuel supply for the third and fourth reactors for their entire service life.