View source for Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant

{{Infobox power station
|name                = Koodankulam
|image               = Kudankulam NPP.jpg
|image_caption       =
|location_map        = India
|country             = [[India]]
|lat_d = 8|lat_m = 10|lat_s = 08|lat_NS = N
|long_d = 77|long_m = 42|long_s = 45|long_EW = E
|coordinates_type = region:IN_type:landmark_source:dewiki
|coordinates_display = title
|owner               = [[Nuclear Power Corporation of India]] LTD.
|construction_began  = 1997
|commissioned        =
|decommissioned      =
|reactors_operate_mw =
|reactors_decom_mw   =
|reactors_const_mw   = 6 x 1200 MW<br />2 x 1000 MW
|net_generation      =
|website             = [http://www.npcil.nic.in/main/ConstructionDetail.aspx?ReactorID=77 Nuclear Power Corporation of India]
|as_of               = August 11, 2007
}}

'''Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant''' is a [[nuclear power]] station currently under construction in [[Koodankulam]] in the [[Tirunelveli]] district of the southern [[India]]n state of [[Tamil Nadu]].

==History==
An Inter-Governmental Agreement on the project was signed on November 20, 1988 by Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and Soviet President [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], for the construction of two reactors. The project remained in limbo for a decade due to the political and economic upheaval in Russia after the post-1991 Soviet breakup. There were also objections from the United States, on the grounds that the agreement does not meet the 1992 terms of the [[Nuclear Suppliers Group]] (NSG).<ref name="rusnuclear">[http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/russia/exports/rusind/react.htm Nuclear Exports to India from Russia]</ref>

Since the plant was conceived in the mid-1980s, an anti-nuclear group [[People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy]] was opposing the plant for about 25 years<ref name="(PMANE)">[http://www.dianuke.org/koodankulam-struggle-25-years-of-sweat-and-toil/ Koodankulam Struggle: 25 years of sweat and toil]</ref> due to the [[Environmental impact of nuclear power]] and its threat to the people and environment.<ref name="sathishmls6">[http://www.transcend.org/tms/2011/08/thirteen-reasons-why-we-do-not-want-the-koodankulam-nuclear-power-project/ See starting section in this article]</ref>

Construction eventually began in 1997.

The cost to India was estimated to be [[USD|US$]] 3&nbsp;billion (Rs.13,615 Crores) in 2001.<ref name="cost">http://www.eca-watch.org/problems/asia_pacific/india/documents/SFried_indiaprojectssurvey_jan2004.pdf At What Cost? ECAs in India: Bankrolling Nuclear Power Plants, Mega-Dams, and Scandal-Ridden Projects; January 2004</ref>

A small port became operational in Kudankulam on January 14, 2004. This port was established to receive barges carrying over sized light water reactor equipment from ships anchored at a distance of {{convert|1.5|km}}. Until 2004 materials had to be brought in via road from the port of [[Tuticorin]], risking damage during transportation.<ref name="koodam4">[http://www.blonnet.com/2004/01/17/stories/2004011700940600.htm Kudankulam Port operational]</ref>

In 2008 negotiation on building four  additional reactors at the site began. Though the capacity of these reactors has not been declared, it is expected that the capacity of each reactor will be 1000 MW or 1 GW.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-31900120080212
 | title = Russia, India edge closer to major nuclear deal
 | author = Dmitry Sergeev
 | publisher = Reuters
 | date = 2008-02-12
 | accessdate = 2008-02-12
}}</ref><ref>[http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081203/884/twl-india-russia-to-sign-deal-on-new-nuc_1.html ]{{dead link|date=September 2011}}</ref> The new reactors would bring the total capacity of the power plant to 9200 MW or 9.2 GW.

In June 2011, Sergei Ryzhov, the chief designer of the light water VVER nuclear reactors used at this Nuclear Power Plant was killed in an airplane accident. The plane belonging to the Rus-Air airlines was flying from Moscow to the Karelian capital Petrozavodsk.<ref name="more">{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Designer-of-Indian-N-reactor-killed-in-Russian-plane-crash/articleshow/8943539.cms |title=Designer of Indian N-reactor killed in Russian plane crash - Times Of India |publisher=Timesofindia.indiatimes.com |date=2011-06-22 |accessdate=2011-09-17}}</ref>

==Technical description==
Two 1&nbsp;[[gigawatt|GW]] reactors of the [[VVER|VVER-1000]] model are being constructed by the [[Nuclear Power Corporation of India|Nuclear Power corporation of India Limited]] (NPCIL) and [[Atomstroyexport]]. When completed they will become the largest nuclear power generation complex in India producing a cumulative 2&nbsp;GW of electric power.<ref name="companyname">[http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/10/12/stories/2008101251200100.htm NPCIL to go into details with 4 reactor suppliers]</ref> Both units are water-cooled, water-moderated power reactors.<ref name="reactypes">[http://www.icjt.org/npp/podrobnosti.php?drzava=11&lokacija=628 Nuclear Power Plant Type]</ref>  The first was scheduled to start operation in December 2009 and the second one was scheduled for March 2010.  Currently, the official projections put unit 1 into operation in June 2011, and unit 2 will go in March 2012.<ref name=npcil-kun12>{{cite web| url=http://npcil.nic.in/main/ConstructionDetail.aspx?ReactorID=77|title= Kudankulam Atomic Power Project|accessdate=2011-03-16}}</ref><ref name=wnn-kudankulam>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.npcil.nic.in/kapp.asp
 | title = KUDANKULAM ATOMIC POWER PROJECT 1 & 2
 | accessdate = 2008-06-01
|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20080515211047/http://www.npcil.nic.in/kapp.asp <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-05-15}}</ref><ref name="koodam1" >[http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1919/19190980.htm History of the Kudankulam Project]</ref>

Four more reactors are set to be added to this plant under a memorandum of intent signed in 2008.<ref name="koodam2">[http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/26/stories/2007012616170100.htm Four more reactors]</ref> A firm agreement on setting up two more reactors, has been postponed pending the ongoing talks on liability issues. Under an inter-government agreement signed in December 2008 Russia is to supply to India four third generation [[VVER#VVER-1200|VVER-1200]] reactors of 1170 MW.<ref>[http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/article15356.ece Details on the Next Generation Reactors]</ref>

The reactors have some advanced safety features like [[Passive nuclear safety|passive heat removal system]], double containment, [[Core Catcher]], and hydrogen re-combiner instead of conventional systems.<ref name="thehindu.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article2640076.ece|title= Kudankulam reactors safest: Central panel|date=19 November 2011 |work=The Hindu }}</ref>

==Controversy==
{{POV-section|date=November 2011}} {{copy edit-section|date=December 2011}}
As of October 2011, thousands of protesters and villagers living around the Russian-built Koodankulam nuclear plant in the southern Tamil Nadu state, are blocking highways and staging hunger strikes, preventing further construction work, and demanding its closure as they fear of the disasters like the [[Environmental impact of nuclear power]], [[Radioactive waste]], [[nuclear accident]] similar to the radiation leak in March at Japan's [[Fukushima nuclear disaster]].<ref name=nzh11/> 

The protesters have clearly stated few specific reasons for opposing the Koodankulam NPP project.<ref name="sathishmls1">[http://www.transcend.org/tms/2011/08/thirteen-reasons-why-we-do-not-want-the-koodankulam-nuclear-power-project/ Thirteen Reasons Why We Do Not Want the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project]</ref>

According to [[S P Udayakumar]], of the voluntary [[People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy]], "the nuclear plant is unsafe" and "the safety analysis report and the site evaluation study have not been made public. No public hearing was held. It's an authoritarian project that has been imposed on the people." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha that "all precautions would be taken at the Koodankulam nuclear plant to maintain the highest safety standards".<ref name=nzh11>{{cite web |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10762102 |title=Indian activists fear nuclear plant accident |author=Rahul Bedi |date=October 28, 2011 |work=NZ Herald }}</ref>

Protesters claimed that even advanced countries like Germany has decided to shutdown all its 17 Nuclear reactors through which the country gets 23% of its energy.<ref name="sathishmls3">[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/germany-to-shut-nuclear-reactors Germany to shut all nuclear reactors]</ref><ref name="sathishmls4">[http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf43.html See March 2011 shutdown & May closure plan in German nuclear power units table in this article]</ref>

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed against the government’s civil nuclear program at the apex Supreme Court. The PIL specifically asks for the "staying of all proposed nuclear power plants till satisfactory safety measures and cost-benefit analyses are completed by independent agencies".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3889&Itemid=614 |title=
India's Rising Nuclear Safety Concerns |author=Siddharth Srivastava |date=27 October 2011 |work=Asia Sentinel }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20111024/india-nuclear-energy-expansion-grassroots-uprising-jaitapur-maharashtra-tamil-nadu-west-bengal-fukushima |title=Prospects Dim for India's Nuclear Power Expansion as Grassroots Uprising Spreads |author=Ranjit Devraj |date=25 October 2011 |work=Inside Climate News }}</ref>

Renowned aeronautical scientist and former [[President of India]] [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]] after a personal visit to the plant claimed that Koodankulam Nuclear Plant is safe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kudankulam-plant-safe-APJ-Abdul-Kalam/articleshow/10737594.cms|title= Kudankulam plant safe: APJ Abdul Kalam|date=15 November 2011 |work=The Times of India }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2627059.ece|title= Kalam plumps again for Kudankulam plant|author=SHIV SAHAY SINGH |date=14 November 2011 |work=The Hindu }}</ref> However [[People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy]] leader Mr.Pushparayan recollected that Former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission of India Dr [[Homi Sethna]] had suggested to [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]] in the past not to comment on nuclear engineering since he was a missile engineer.<ref name="sathishmls7">[http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_kudankulam-gets-rocket-scientist-apj-kalams-backing_1608604 See last 3 paragraphs in this article]</ref><ref name="sathishmls8">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._P._J._Abdul_Kalam#Criticisms_and_controversy See Criticisms and controversy section]</ref>

Protesters also claimed that the Fukushima disaster in which the emergency cooling system itself was damaged by the earthquake,<ref name="sathishmls2">[http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105250150.html Earthquake, not tsunami, may have damaged cooling system]</ref> has made it clear that no one can really predict any disaster occurance.<ref name="sathishmls5">[http://www.transcend.org/tms/2011/08/thirteen-reasons-why-we-do-not-want-the-koodankulam-nuclear-power-project/ See section-12 in this article]</ref> 

Regarding people's fears Former  chairman  of [[Atomic Energy Commission of India]] Srinivasan said that one should never compare the Fukushima plant with Kudankulam and added "The Fukushima plant was built on abeachfront, but the Kudankulam was constructed on a solid terrain and that too keeping all the safety aspects in mind. Also, we are not in a tsunamiprone area. The plants in Kudankulam have a double contaminant system which can withstand high pressure. At least Rs 14,000 crore has been spent. If we don't operate the plant immediately, it will affect the economic stability of our country".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Kudankulam-plant-is-safe-Srinivasan/articleshow/10722534.cms|title= Kudankulam plant is safe: Srinivasan|date=14 November 2011 |work=The Times of India }}</ref>

A center panel constituted by the Government of India ,which did a survey of the safety features in the plant,said the Koodankulam reactors are the safest and fears of the people are not based on scientific principles.Dr. Muthunayagam,panel's convener,also added that the protesters have asked for some documents which are not related to the safety of the reactor hence he suspects the very nature of their questions.<ref name="thehindu.com"/>

In response to the center panel report, protesters wrote an open letter to the chief minister Jayalalithaa that the center panel's report is "ill-baked and incomplete eyewash report" and also said that the report has "ignored our question on liability, and has given no specific or scientific information on nuclear waste, and vague information on the fresh water needs of the KKNPP".<ref name="sathishmls10">[http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Chennai/Koodankulam-plant-Activists-seeks-Jaya-s-help-to-scrap-project/Article1-774782.aspx Koodankulam plant: Activists seeks Jaya's help to scrap project]</ref>

==See also ==
{{Portal box|India|Nuclear technology|Energy}}
* [[Nuclear Power Corporation of India]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.npcil.nic.in Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd]

{{Nuclear power in India}}

[[Category:Nuclear power stations in India]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Tirunelveli]]
[[Category:Proposed nuclear power stations]]
[[Category:Proposed power stations in India]]
[[Category:India–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Nuclear power stations using VVER reactors]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear movement in India]]
[[Category:Politics of India]]
[[Category:Anti-nuclear protests]]

[[de:Kernkraftwerk Kudankulam]]
[[fr:Centrale nucléaire de Kudankulam]]
[[it:Centrale nucleare di Kudankulam]]
[[ml:കൂടംകുളം ആണവനിലയം]]
[[mr:कोड्डनकुलन अणुऊर्जा प्रकल्प]]
[[no:Kudankulam kjernekraftverk]]
[[ru:АЭС Куданкулам]]
[[fi:Koodankulamin ydinvoimalaitos]]
[[ta:கூடங்குளம் அணுமின் நிலையம்]]