The ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima has quashed once ambitious plans for the construction of new reactors in Japan. The government does, however, remain committed to promoting exports of nuclear reactors and technology as it sees huge potential in overseas markets.
Nuclear energy will fuel the roaring economies of China and India, although in the latter, popular protests are slowing expansion. In Tamil Nadu, civic groups such as the National Alliance of People's Movements and the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy have opposed commissioning the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) that was built with Russian assistance.
Plans to start up the first of two reactors there, each with 1,000 MW capacity, at the end of 2011 have been postponed until March 2012. Meanwhile, local groups conduct daily protests in the hope of closing down the facility permanently — though the government is likely to proceed with the project.