NHPC Forays into Renewable Energy with 100-Megawatt Wind Power Project in Madhya Pradesh

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--NHPC Limited (Faridabad, Haryana), one of India's largest hydropower producers, announced plans to enter the country's renewable energy sector by building a 100-megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Kukroo, Madhya Pradesh. The project has received approvals from the Madhya Pradesh Energy Development Corporation (Indore, Madhya Pradesh).

Earlier, the Center for Wind Energy Technology (Chennai, Tamil Nadu), under the aegis of the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy, had requested for proposals to set up wind parks in Madhya Pradesh. Since the project will still in the preliminary stages, a decision on investment was not finalized.

NHPC recently announced plans to explore opportunities in alternate energy resources, such as solar, tidal power and wind energy. The company is also developing a 1,000-MW thermal power plant in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh government is expected to allot coal linkages for the thermal power project shortly. Since NHPC is not allowed to construct and operate thermal power plants, it has formed a subsidiary company, Narmada Hydro Electric Development Corporation (NHDC) (Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh) to execute these ventures. NHDC has been set up as a 51:49 joint venture between NHPC and the state government of Madhya Pradesh. NHDC will also oversee the Kukroo wind power project.

Last week, NHPC announced that it is set to commission nine hydropower projects by the end of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, 2007-12, which will increase its hydropower generation capacity from the present 5,175 MW to 10,000 MW. In the last fiscal year, the company started operating the 510-MW Teesta V project in Sikkim and the 520-MW Omkareshwar project in Madhya Pradesh. NHPC is also constructing the 2,000-MW Subansiri project in Lakimpur on the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. Upon completion, the hydropower plant will be the largest in the country. The 120-MW Sewa II project in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to be commissioned by December this year. NHPC has also indicated that it will add 2,100 MW to its generation capacity by building three plants on the Chenab River after India's parliamentary elections this year. The company is also executing the 3.75-MW Durgaduani Mini Tidal Power project in West Bengal.

NHPC is also working with India's neighbors, Myanmar and Bhutan, to develop hydropower plants. The firm is carrying out feasibility studies for three projects, which will add 3,800 MW to Bhutan's power grid. NHPC is also completing a detailed project study for two projects that will have combined power generation capacity of 1,800 MW in Myanmar.

India, which has a hydropower potential of 150,000 MW, is currently the fifth largest hydropower generating country globally. The northeastern region of the country is capable of generating 60,000 MW of hydropower. By 2022, NHPC plans to invest $10 billion to set up new power plants with combined capacity of 10,000 MW.

Power generation using renewable energy resources, especially wind power is gaining popularity in India. As of March 31, 2009, India's wind power generation capacity was around 10.24 gigawatts. The wind power sector is expected to grow at an annual rate of 24% in the next five years.

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