Konkan coast set to emerge as India’s major atomic energy corridor

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s picturesque Konkan coast — renowned for its pristine beaches, fishing villages, world-famous Alphonso mangoes, sprawling cashew plantations and ecologically rich Arabian Sea shoreline — is poised for India's massive nuclear energy transformation with mega projects proposed by Adani, Reliance Industries and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) across Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts involving investments of up to Rs 4.5 lakh crore.

The latest nuclear push comes even as the ambitious Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project, being developed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) in collaboration with France’s EDF, continues to position the Konkan region as the country’s emerging atomic energy hub. The proposed 9,900 MW Jaitapur project in Rajapur in the Ratnagiri district—regarded as one of the world’s largest planned nuclear power plants—along with the newly announced projects, could make the Konkan belt one of India’s biggest nuclear energy clusters. Locals had protested the project in the past. 

In a major clean-energy initiative, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday signed separate Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Reliance Industries Ltd, Adani Power Ltd and its subsidiary Coastal-Maha Atomic Energy Ltd, and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd at Mantralaya in Mumbai in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The proposed projects together are expected to generate over 20,000 MW of electricity and create nearly 1.2 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities.

Fadnavis said Maharashtra would play a key role in helping India emerge as an “energy-rich nation” while contributing towards the country’s long-term net-zero carbon emission goals envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Adani Power Ltd and Coastal-Maha Atomic Energy Ltd have proposed setting up a 6,000 MW nuclear power project at Barsu in Ratnagiri district with an estimated investment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore and employment potential of around 12,000 jobs.

Reliance Industries Ltd has proposed Bharat Small Reactors, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and nuclear power reactors at Purnagadh in Ratnagiri district. The project capacity ranges from two units of 220 MW each to six units of 1,200 MW each, with proposed investments ranging between Rs 8,000 crore and Rs 2 lakh crore depending on the final scale. The project is expected to create over one lakh employment opportunities.

NTPC Ltd has proposed a nuclear power plant at Devgad in Sindhudurg district with six units and a combined generation capacity ranging between 4,000 MW and 7,200 MW. The proposed investment is around Rs 1 lakh crore with employment potential estimated at around 5,000 jobs.

Collectively, the projects could add between 10,440 MW and 20,400 MW of nuclear generation capacity in Maharashtra, substantially strengthening India’s clean-energy ambitions amid rising electricity demand and energy transition goals.

However, the expansion of nuclear infrastructure in the Konkan region is also likely to revive environmental and livelihood concerns that have surrounded the Jaitapur project for over a decade. Sections of local residents, farmers, fisherfolk and environmental groups have opposed the project citing apprehensions over seismic safety, marine ecology, land acquisition and the impact on the fragile coastal ecosystem. The protests had at times turned intense, making Jaitapur one of India’s most debated nuclear energy projects.

Stretching between the Arabian Sea and the rugged Sahyadri mountain ranges, the Konkan belt is regarded as one of India’s most scenic and ecologically sensitive coastal regions. Characterised by dense forests, laterite cliffs, creeks, estuaries, coconut groves, cashew plantations and globally renowned Alphonso mango orchards, the region supports a thriving fisheries and tourism economy while also serving as a biodiversity hotspot along India’s western coastline.