Connection to the grid will allow the operator to conduct a series of technical tests required for full commissioning. The new power unit is the 19th heavy-water reactor in India, as well as the 21st nuclear power unit in operation. However, the country’s NPP fleet is going to add more light-water reactors using ordinary water instead of deuterium oxide in the coming years. Among them will be four new power units at the Kudankulam NPP, which will be equipped with VVER-1000 reactors.
India ranks second worldwide in terms of the pace of NPP construction. According to the IAEA, there were seven power units with a total net capacity of 5.4 GW under construction in India by March 2025. In this regard, India was second only to China (with 28 reactors totaling 29.6 GW). Interest towards the development of nuclear energy is largely linked to rapidly growing energy demand. India’s overall power consumption rose by 70% between 2013 and 2023 (to 1,957 TWh), whereas the rate of bringing coal-fired TPPs on stream slowed down significantly: the average annual capacity of coal-fired power plants launched nationwide went from 16.8 GW between 2010 and 2014 to 4.4 GW between 2020 and 2024 (data by Global Energy Monitor).
This discrepancy is caused by the rapid development of low-carbon energy, including renewables. According to Mercom India, the capacity of newly-installed solar panels across India skyrocketed from 8.3 GW in 2023 to 25.2 GW in 2024, with the installed capacity of all types of renewables exceeding 200 GW by the end of last year. The country’s government plans to increase this figure to 500 GW by 2030.
