New Delhi: At a time when India is reeling under a severe power crisis, power ministry statistics have revealed that 98 hydroelectric power (HEP) with an aggregate installed capacity of 58,196.5 MW are presently in pipeline across the country.
Government statistics in possession of ETV Bharat said that 31 HEP with an aggregate installed capacity of 21,065 MW is at the survey and investigation stage followed by 2 HEPs with an aggregate installed capacity of 1,700 MW are at the examination stage in the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for concurrence.
Detailed project reports of 29 HEPs with an aggregate installed capacity of 22,768 MW have been concurred by CEA and are yet to be taken up for construction for various reasons. Likewise, 36 HEPs (above 25 MW) with an aggregate installed capacity of 12, 663.5 MW are under construction in the country. Most of the HEP projects are run of the river (ROR) projects whereas many are pumped storage projects (PSP).
Run of the river hydro project is those whose harvest the energy from flowing water to generate electricity in the absence of a large dam and reservoir. Under this initiative, water is channeled from a river through a canal to spin a turbine. On the other hand, the pumped storage project moves water between the two reservoirs located at different elevations (upper and lower reservoir) to store energy and generate electricity.
As per the statistics, Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of projects with an installed capacity of 9,150 MW hydroelectricity. Himachal Pradesh has 1,671 MW hydropower generating projects. Other States like J&K, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Maharastra have hydroelectric projects which are under survey and investigation.
India's total installed power capacity is 395.07 gigawatt (GW) as of January 2022 out of which near about 12 percent 46.51 GW is coming from hydroelectric power projects. India's coal-based power installed capacity stood at 203.9 GW as of January this year and is expected to reach 330-441 GW by 2040.
The government statistics further said that a 500 MW hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh as well as a 1,200 MW hydroelectric project in Andhra Pradesh are under examination by Central Electric Authority (CEA) for concurrence.
The Dugar HE project in Himachal Pradesh is being developed by NHPC whereas the Pinnapuram Standalone PSP project in Andhra Pradesh is being developed by a private developer. As per the statistics, as many as 29 projects with an installed power capacity of 22768 MW spread across different states are presently at various stages of already receiving the environment clearance or awaiting the forest clearances.
Significantly, 36 hydropower projects with an installed capacity of 12663.50 MW, under construction, are at different stages of completion. It is worth mentioning, that the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric power project along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border is likely to be completed by August 2023. The power project is being developed by National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC).
"The 2000 MW Subansiri Lower HE project is the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in India so far," a power ministry official said. The project is a run of the river project, located near North Lakhimpur on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is worth mentioning that States across India have been facing a severe power crisis at present.
As per an estimate, the electricity supply in India fell short of demand by 1.88 billion units or 1.6 percent during the first 27 days of last month. However, the peak in demand has been met with load shedding and other actions.
Talking to this correspondent, chairman of All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) Shailendra Dubey said that once all the ongoing Hydropower projects get commissioned "India's power scenarios would be much better." He, however, said that the ROR projects too have challenges. "In the ROR project, water is diverted for power generation which destroys the riverine ecology. The blasting and tunneling that happens while building a dam also dry up mountain springs...and ROR always depends on the continuous flow of water," said Dubey.
