Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is India's largest nuclear power facility under operationalisation — a six-unit Russian VVER-1000 (V-412) Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) plant at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. When fully operational (target 2027 for all 6 units), the plant will have 6,000 MW total installed capacity — exceeding any current Indian nuclear facility.

The project is a flagship of Indo-Russian civilian nuclear cooperation, sanctioned in 1988 between Mikhail Gorbachev's USSR and Rajiv Gandhi's government. Construction commenced in 2002 after the technology embargo following India's 1998 Pokhran-II nuclear tests was partially relaxed. Phase 1 (Units 1 + 2) became operational in 2014 + 2017 respectively. Units 3 + 4 (under construction since 2017) target 2025-26. Units 5 + 6 (under construction since 2021) target 2027.

The Russian Atomstroyexport (now Rosatom) provides reactor technology + initial fuel supply + skilled-engineer training. NPCIL operates the plant + manages the Indian nuclear fuel cycle. Total cost: ₹17,000 crore for Units 1+2; ₹50,000+ crore for full 6-unit complex. Key infrastructure: Russian VVER-1000 V-412 reactors with passive safety + advanced containment, shared cooling water from Bay of Bengal via dedicated cooling-tower complex, dedicated 765 kV transmission lines to Indian grid.

KKNPP has been operationally controversial — particularly during the 2011-2012 Anti-Nuclear protests in surrounding villages following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. Multiple Supreme Court interventions sustained the project, but raised concerns about coastal-flood + tsunami safety design.