India Targets Additional 1,400 Megawatts by 2012 from Small Hydropower Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Recent reports reveal that of an estimated potential capacity of 15,000 megawatts (MW) from small hydropower projects in India, only 16% has been harnessed. Small hydropower projects are those with generating capacities ranging from 2.001 MW to 25 MW. With the remaining capacity yet to be tapped, efforts are under way to encourage public- and private-sector participation in this domain. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has set a target of an additional 1,400 MW of small hydropower generation to be achieved by the year 2012.

The MNRE has also identified 4,096 potential small hydropower sites across India, accounting for an estimated 10,071 MW of power. About 19 Indian states have fully developed policies and infrastructure for transporting and storing power from small hydropower projects, in addition to other guidelines for other facilities such as buy-back options and third-party sales.

In the southern state of Kerala, initiatives to encourage small hydropower projects have been in place since the late 1990s, with the Kerala Energy Management Centre running several programs to teach and promote the techniques of power generation through small hydropower projects. MNRE has identified about 207 sites in the state for setting up small hydropower projects with a total capacity of 455.53 MW. Advertisements for commissioning independent power projects at 32 sites have already been published. The state has also published a revised set of guidelines for facilitating captive and independent small hydropower projects.

Several ongoing small hydropower projects in Kerala, including those being executed by private players and by the Kerala State Electricity Board are in various stages of completion. Three projects are scheduled to be commissioned by the electricity board in the current 2008-09 fiscal year. These include:

• a 2-MW project in Passukkadavu in Kozhikode with expected annual generation of 5.8 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power
• a 4.8-MW project in Poozhithode in Kozhikode with expected annual generation of 10.97 million kWh of power
• a 4-MW project in Maniyar Tailrace in the Pathanamthitta district with expected annual generation of 16.73 million kWh of power.

In addition, there are a few new projects in the pipeline for which funds have been allocated as part of state's budget for 2008-09. These include two projects in Thrissur: the 2.5-MW Chimony small hydropower project that is part of the Chimony irrigation project and the 1.5-MW Peechi Mini project at the Peechi Reservoir.

Small hydropower projects are clean-energy alternatives that are being considered to service the growing power demand in India. The country's large network of rivers fed by seasonal monsoons makes small hydropower projects feasible and economically viable, especially in regions beyond the reach of the power grid. However, this sector has yet to be fully explored and exploited. Northeast India still has about 80% untapped small hydropower potential, mainly based on run-of-river hydropower. The small hydropower output in the country stood at about 1,975.59 megawatts as of 2007.

Small hydropower projects are considered to be eco-friendly ventures, with relatively less land and infrastructure required when compared with conventional power projects. These projects also do not usually involve submergence, deforestation or relocation of the population. For every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced by a small hydropower project, the impact on the environment is much less than power produced by conventional sources of generation. The environmental impact per kilowatt-hour of small hydropower is 300 times less than that of lignite-based power, 250 times less than that of coal-based power, 125 times less than that of uranium-based power and 50 times less than that of natural-gas-based power. Based on clean-development mechanisms, small hydropower generation does not contaminate water sources, generate heat or produce toxic effluents and greenhouse gases.

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