Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (or Kudankulam NPP or KKNPP) is the largest nuclear power station in India, situated in Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Construction on the plant began on 31 March 2002, but faced several delays due to opposition from local fishermen. KKNPP is scheduled to have six VVER-1000 reactors built in collaboration with Atomstroyexport, the Russian state company and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), with an installed capacity of 6,000 MW of electricity.
| Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Coordinates | 8°10′08″N 77°42′45″E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | Units 1: 31 March 2002 Unit 2: 4 July 2002 Units 3 & 4: 29 June 2017 Units 5: 29 June 2021 Units 6: 20 December 2021 |
| Commission date | Unit 1: 22 October 2013 Unit 2: 15 October 2016 |
| Construction cost | Units 1 & 2: ₹17,270 crore (US$2.83 billion) Units 3 & 4: ₹39,849 crore (US$5.38 billion) Units 5 & 6: ₹49,621 crore (US$6.7 billion) |
| Owner(s) | Nuclear Power Corporation of India |
| Operator(s) |
|
| Nuclear power station | |
| Reactors | 2 |
| Reactor type | VVER |
| Reactor supplier | Rosatom |
| Cooling source | Laccadive Sea |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 × 1,000 MW (gross) |
| Make and model | VVER-1000/412 |
| Units planned | 2 x VVER-1200 |
| Units under const. | 4 × 1,000 MW (gross) |
| Nameplate capacity | 1,864 MW |
| Capacity factor | 68.27% (2020–21) |
| Annual net output | 11,960.80 GW·h (2020–21) |
| External links | |
| Website | Nuclear Power Corporation of India |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
Unit 1 was synchronised with the southern power grid on 22 October 2013 and since then, has been generating electricity at its warranted limit of 1,000 MW. The original cost of the two units was ₹ 13,171 crore, but it was later revised to ₹ 17,270 crore (US$2.6 billion). Russia advanced a credit of ₹ 6,416 crore (US$0.97 billion) for both the units. Unit 2 attained criticality on 10 July 2016 and was synchronised with the electricity grid on 29 August.
In 2015, Nuclear Power Corporation Ltd (NPCIL) announced a price of ₹ 4.29/kW·h (6.4 ¢/kW·h) for energy delivered from Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
The ground-breaking ceremony for construction of units 3 & 4 was performed on 17 February 2016. Due to technology changes, inflation and insistence of the supplier and operator for additional liability insurance the construction cost of units 3 & 4 amounted to twice the cost of units 1 & 2 and was later revised to be ₹39,849 crore (US$5.38 billion). A budget of ₹49,621 crore (US$6.7 billion) has been approved for construction of Units 5 & 6.