Why rising nuclear power costs matter for India’s clean energy plans

4 min readNew DelhiJul 31, 2026 01:35 PM IST Located in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is India’s one of largest nuclear power projects. Photo: Wikimedia CommonsThe project cost of the four under-construction Russian-designed nuclear reactor units at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNP) has increased by nearly 55% over the original sanctioned cost since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. As per latest government data, the cost of these four reactors, each with 1 gigawatt capacity, increased from Rs 89,470 crore to Rs 1,38,330 crore. The project cost of Units 3 and 4 has increased by 72.9%, while that of Units 5 and 6 has risen by 39.9% over their respective sanctioned costs. Rise in project costs of KKNP reactors 3, 4, 5, and 6.A crucial junctu