India's Hydro Power

Posted on 17 October 2007.

CAN INDIA ACHIEVE ITS POTENTIAL?

The mighty Brahmaputra courses southwest, then south,

connecting Himalayan glaciers to the Andaman Sea.

Editor’s Note: In our recent feature “Technology & Sunlight – India’s Green Future” we
calculated that for India to produce half as much energy per capita as members of the
European Community, its overall energy production would need to quadruple.

While India has technology and sunlight in abundance, and while these are key ingredients
for a green energy future, it is daunting to think solar thermal and solar electric power can
increase their share of energy production from today’s negligible percentage to provide all
needed growth in energy production within a generation.

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While biofuel offers potential, barring pending breakthroughs that facilitate biofuel from
sources other than crops, there is a finite boundary to how much biofuel can be grown. And
biofuel from crops come at the expense of food and forest, and are themselves major drivers
of climate change when cooling and rain-inducing forests give way en-masse to new
plantations of thirsty biofuel monocultures.

For this reason we have examined the alternatives to the alternatives; conventional energy
options such as fossil fuels (including heavy oil), nuclear power, and hydroelectricity. In our
report “China’s Renewable Energy,” it is clear what a nation with a strong central
government can accomplish. The Three Gorges hydroelectric complex will have a capacity of
17.5 gigawatts, a staggering amount of energy – the single massive Three Gorges installation
will output more than 50% of the entire output of every one of India’s current hydroelectric
power stations combined! But in democratic India, projects of such magnitude take time, as
they probably should. Not every gorge should be dammed.

Yet India’s compelling need to produce more energy remains. And unlike a nation like the
United States, where power is already available in abundance and energy efficiency
innovations can address much (some would say all) of their energy challenges, there isn’t as
much time in India to debate options. Projects in the United States can take decades to gain
approval through the democratic process, but the United States has decades to wait. Unlike
the USA which is in a post-industrial phase, India needs more energy now to complete their
process of industrialization. India needs more energy now in order for its energy
infrastructure to keep pace with its burgeoning and world class scientific and technology
community, and to give those communities the raw materials they need to lift India to the
higher standard of living their innovations promise.

This is the challenge India faces – to balance democratic dialogue, which require delays and
compromise, with the need to fulfill urgent economic imperatives. To lose too much
democracy or to forfeit too many innovations in an energy challenged nation are both
unacceptable outcomes. There is a balance between traditional technologies for energy
conservation and water harvesting and small dams, for example, and mega projects such as
interlinking rivers and nuclear power plants and large hydroelectric dams. In finding that
balance, not everything will be lost, but not everything will be saved, either. The only way
India will find a route into the eventual solar future will be to embrace some of these
alternatives to the alternatives, unpleasant though they may be, but to do this in a way that
leaves enough wilderness and democracy intact to make the choice worthwhile. It can be
done.

- Ed “Redwood” Ring

India’s Hydro Power – Can India Achieve its Potential?

by Avilash Roul, October 17, 2007

The 1,500 megawatt Jhkari Hydroelectric Plant, India’s

largest underground hydro-electric project;
Satluj River, Himachal Pradesh
(Photo: Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, India)

The Indian economist Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, is eager to provide electricity to
every village by 2009, thereby surpassing the official target of “power to all by 2012.”
Over 40 percent of India’s population does not have access to electricity and providing
electricity for 24 hours in rural areas is a major challenge. For this the Indian government has
envisioned several paths for its energy requirements, from nuclear to renewable. Despite
greening its energy requirements, the government has taken various paths from bidding
foreign oil well through diplomatic manoeuvring to establishing fossil fuel thermal plants.
Meanwhile, hydro-power is one of the energy sources which oscillate between aspiration and
achievements. But today there is a strong push for large hydro projects in India. While the
pro-hydro lobby is working towards meeting India’s full potential, the anti-hydro-power
groups are targeting those projects which they believe are violating environmental and human
rights norms. Despite growing number of oppositions to hydro-power, the Indian government
is very optimistic to achieve its potential.

By end of August 2007, the total installed capacity in India is 135,402 megawatts (MW), out
of which thermal occupies 86,976 MW (64.5 %), hydro 34,131 MW (24.8 %), nuclear 4,120
MW (3.1 %), and renewable 10,175 MW (7.6 %). Out of the total thermal mix, coal produces
71,932 MW (53.4 %), gas produces 13,842 MW (10.2 %) and oil produces a mere 1,202 MW
(0.9 %). In comparison with other countries like Canada (17,179 kWh), USA (13,338 kWh),
Australia (11,126 kWh), Japan (8,076 kWh), France (7,689 kWh), Germany (7,030 kWh),
United Kingdom (6,206 kWh), Russia (5,642 kWh) and Italy (5,644 kWh), India’s per capita
electricity consumption is very low at 631 kWh at present. The National Electricity Policy
envisages that the per capita availability of electricity will be increased to over 1,000 kWh by
2012. To achieve this, the government is expecting a total capacity addition of about 78,577
MW at the end of 2012 of which 16,553 MW is expected from hydro, 58,644 MW from
thermal and 3,380 MW from nuclear. Although India has significant potential for generation
of power from non-conventional energy sources (183,000 MW) such as wind, small hydro,
biomass and solar energy, the emphasis is still going to thermal energy sources. India has at
present a 7.5% overall electrical energy shortage and 11% peaking shortage.

Options for Hydropower

In the 2005 National Electricity Policy the objectives have been set as follows: provision for
access to electricity for all households; demand to be met by 2012 with no energy and
peaking shortages and adequate reserves to be made available and reliable, and quality power
supplies at reasonable rates.

The Indian government considers hydropower as a renewable economic, non-polluting and

environmentally benign source of energy. The exploitable hydro-electric potential in terms of
installed capacity is estimated to be about 148,700 MW (See Table 1) out of which a capacity
of 30,164 MW (20.3%) has been developed so far and 13,616 MW (9.2 %) of capacity is
under construction. In addition, 6,782 MW in terms of installed capacity from small, mini and
micro hydro schemes have been assessed. Also, 56 sites for pumped storage schemes with an
aggregate installed capacity of 94,000 MW have been identified. The government expects to
harness its full potential of hydropower by 2027 with a whopping investment of 5,000 billion
Rupees.

Table 1: INDIA’S HYDROPOWER POTENTIAL

India has the potential to nearly triple their hydroelectric output.
Source: India Central Electricity Authority
Stages of Hydro Power Development

In 1887 at Darjeeling, state of West Bengal, the first hydropower station in India was
commissioned. At the time of independence, out of total installed capacity of 1,362 MW,
hydro-power generation capacity stood at 508 MW. The share of hydropower in the country
had a major thrust after Independence, when it rose from 37% at the end of 1947 to its peak
share of 51% at the end of 1962/63. While there has been a continuous increase in the
installed capacity of hydro power stations in India, today the share of hydro power has been
reduced to only 25% of total electric power generation. The government believes the strong
public opposition to dams in India is the reason for slower progress.

In India, power is a concurrent subject and the primary responsibility as far as the consumer
is concerned vests with the States who have full responsibility for distribution. During 12th
Five Year Plan (2012-2017), the Government has identified hydro-power benefits of 38,242
MW (See Table 2). During the same period the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation
Ltd., a government of India enterprise, is targeting to install 5,837 MW of hydropower in
India. In the approach paper on power and energy to the 11th Five Year Plan-2007-2012, the
government is anticipating in hydro capacity addition of 16,553 MW of which Central Sector
will add 9,685 MW, State Sector 3,605 MW and Private Sector 3,263 MW. From 1,061 MW
in 1st Five Year Plan (1951-1956), the hydro power has grown to 34,131 MW at the end of
10th Five Year Plan (See Table 3). In fact installed capacity of hydro has increased at a
compound growth rate of 4.35% per annum since 1991, higher than all other power sub-
sectors.

The Union Ministry of Power has taken several policy measures to accelerate capacity
addition from hydro-electric projects. These include: higher budgetary allocation for the
hydro sector; investment approval of new projects; identification of new projects, promoting
State Sector projects which were languishing or could not progress due to Inter-State
disputes; improving tariff dispensation for hydro projects; simplification of procedure for
transfer of clearance; levy of 5% development surcharge to supplement resources for hydro
electric projects. While the Power Ministry is responsible for the development of large hydro
power projects in India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has been responsible for
small and mini hydro projects up to 3MW station capacity since 1989.

Private Sector Participation:

With the economic liberalisation, the Indian government also opened up the doors in 1991 to
private companies for the setting up of private hydropower projects. However, so far only
about 910 MW has been commissioned by the help of private players, which constitutes less
than 3 percent of the total installed hydropower capacity. The present major private
developers are Malana Power Company Ltd., the Jaypee Group and S. Kumar Group. Seeing
the vast potential present in the hydro power generation, Jaypee ventured into private power
generation on a “Build, Own, Operate” (BOO) basis. So far Jaypee has the distinction of
participating in 54% of new hydropower projects under India’s Tenth Five Year Plan.

Small Hydro-Power: A Viable Option

Small 100 KW hydro power project in Himachal Pradesh
(Photo: MNES)

Small and mini hydel projects have the potential to provide energy in remote and hilly areas
where extension of an electrical transmission grid system is uneconomical. Realising this
fact, the Indian government is encouraging development of small hydro power (SHP) projects
in the country. Since 1994 the role of private sector for setting up of commercial SHP
projects has been encouraged. So far 14 States in India have announced policies for setting up
commercial SHP projects through private sector participation. Over 760 sites of about 2,000
MW capacity have already been offered / allotted.

An estimated potential of about 15,000 MW of small hydropower (SHP) projects exists in

India. 4,233 potential sites with an aggregate capacity of 10,071 MW for projects up to 25
MW capacities have been identified (See Table-4). In the last 10-12 years, the capacity of
Small hydro projects up to 3MW has increased 4 fold from 63 MW to 240 MW. 420 small
hydropower projects up to 25MW station capacity with an aggregate capacity of over 1,423
MW have been set up in the country and over 187 projects in this range with aggregate
capacity of 521 MW are under construction.

The MNES provides various incentives like soft loans for setting up of SHP projects up to 25
MW capacity in the commercial sector, renovation and modernization of SHP projects,
setting up of portable micro hydel sets, development / upgradation of water mills, detailed
survey and investigation, detailed project report preparation, interest subsidy for commercial
projects, capital subsidy for SHP projects in the North-Eastern region, and implementation of
UNDP/GEF Hilly Hydro project. India has a reasonably well-established manufacturing base
for the full range and type of small hydro equipment. There are currently eight manufacturers
within India in the field of small hydro manufacturing, supplying various types of turbines,
generators, control equipment, etc.

Table 4: INDIA’S SMALL HYDRO POTENTIAL

Sites capable of up to 25 MW capacity,
another 5,000 MW is believed to be possible.
(Photo: MNES)
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The Role of International Agencies on Hydro-Power

Major hydro-power structures are being funded by international financial institutions like
World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Export Credit Agency, and bilateral agencies
like Japan Bank for International Cooperation(JBIC), and the French Government, Canada,
UK, Sweden, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and the US in India. Since 1956 the World Bank has been
involved in the hydro-power development in India. The Bank is looking to support India’s
hydro development program (www.worldbank.org.in/hydropower) through financial
assistance for up to about 1,500 MW of hydropower capacity over the next three to five
years. Besides the 412 MW Rampur Hydroelectric Project approved by the Bank’s Board in
early September 2007 (www.worldbank.org.in), the Bank also received a request to finance
the proposed 444 MW Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydropower Project
(www.worldbank.org.in/vishnugard-pipalkoti) being developed by the Tehri Hydro
Development Corporation on the Alaknanda River in the state of Uttranchal. The Bank would
also like to assist in the 700 MW Luhri hydro power project in Himachal Pradesh.

Similarly, the Asian Development Bank has begun its engagement in producing hydro-power
in Uttranchal in India with 4 SHPs (4-10 MW). However, the Manila based-regional
development bank believes that India’s vast hydropower potential can contribute to the
country’s energy security in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner.
The latest report of ADB (Hydropower Development in India, 2007) provides an assessment
of the hydropower development potential in India and highlights how hydropower can meet
the country’s goal of providing power for all by 2012. In all probability, the World Bank
would like to assist in construction of hydropower structures; the ADB will lay the
transmission lines from the projects to the grid.

As major rivers transcend international boundaries in South Asia, India has taken up regional
(mostly bilateral) cooperation on harnessing the hydro-power potential of international river
systems. At present, India has cooperation with Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar on hydro-
power.

Challenges and Constraints

The hydro-power in India has always caught the imagination of people’s struggle,
displacement, and submergence of large virgin forest tracts and now, the instrument of
greenhouse gas emissions. The large hydropower infrastructures usually categorise with
adjectives such as “temples of modern India” or “monument to corruptions” or “weapons of
mass destruction” and so on. Can these perceptions be changed on the issue of large hydro-
power dams?

From a hydro-engineering point of view, the immense potential of hydropower in India is yet
to be harnessed. For an engineer, it’s mandatory to build a dam for producing electricity. One
of my hydro-engineer colleagues in India’s government argues, “the hydro power is the best
option in the Indian context considering the large volume of water going to waste. Besides,
hydro-power is better than thermal power as the former is cheaper, can be generated and
utilised as per the need without any overhead costs for idle runs.” “Also the thermal units
take a longer time to be restarted,” adds the Engineer who is preparing mega hydro-power
projects in Orissa. The Engineer tries to convince me that “there are no flaws in hydro power
except building a reservoir, and sometimes commissioning of the projects takes more time.
The government’s last resort is run of the river (RoR) projects which are the small ones with
less producing capacity. This is explored when one does not have the other option.”

For anti-dam activists hydro-power is just an option, not mandatory. They view any estimate
on hydropower – the very fact of putting a number with an electricity unit – as flawed and
fraudulent. From this perspective, water-the-resource, has other utilities and needs more
significant than than generating electricity. Anti-dam activists point out the centralized
character of large hydro power projects, with high costs, potential under performance,
violations and inequity as the basic flaws.

Hydropower provides one of the strongest examples of the close link between water and
energy. Because of its link with large dam projects, which are often environmentally and
socially harmful, hydropower has been the focus of heated debate for the last two decades in
India. The main negative impacts of dams include displacement of local populations and
degradation of ecosystems, adverse down-stream effects on rivers and threatening livelihoods
of large numbers of people. Hydro-power has been contested by all except government
officials for its efficiency or being green. It’s true that there is little attempt for credible
assessment of performance of large hydro. Of late, the large hydro projects have been
presented by neo-anti-dam experts as instruments of emission of greenhouse gases more than
remedies of climate change because the large dams are the public image of environmental
and social degradation in the developing world. The IPCC recognized in its 2006 guidelines
on greenhouse gas inventories that reservoirs are a source of emissions, but more research is
needed to be able to accurately quantify the extent of these emissions, especially of methane.
So whether hydropower is green and renewable or not is gaining more heated discourse than
its centralised character of production, distribution and management.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Power is taking notes of the long gestation period from
preparation to implementation of the project which is actually hampering the capacity
addition. The other weaknesses are duration of preparing a project report, taking an
investment decision, acquiring land, getting environment clearance, placing orders for
execution of the project. Also there is a great imbalance in capacity addition among the
States. However, the major problem is the opposition to hydro power projects all over India.

Should India Achieve its Hydro-Power Potential?

The trust in government and its bureaucracy has been eroding in India thereby leaving more
avenues for contested domains. It has been very difficult transforming the government
intentions to produce electricity from the large water infrastructures after the Sardar Sorvar
Project debacle in the early 1990′s. The small hydro projects are being cautiously
implemented by the governments. However in some cases the adverse socio-economic and
environmental impacts of large dams can be mitigated through informed decision-making,
transparency and engagement of all stakeholders. In all probability, the advantages and
disadvantages of hydro-power structures, large or small, have to be discussed with people
transparently.

The present social and environmental assessments of the hydro projects are flawed from
many angles which triggers real and imaginary conflicts of interest. To settle the People’s
concern, after two years of debate the Indian Cabinet has recently passed the National Policy
on Rehabilitation and Resettlement, 2007. In particular, there has to be clear recognition in all
decision making related to dams that a balance needs to found between the needs for use of
renewable energy, and the minimization of possible harmful effects on the environment –
especially mountain environments where most of the hydro-potential resides. Mountain
regions have particular potential for use and production of renewable energy, not only hydro,
but also biomass, solar, geothermal or wind; clearly, the adverse environmental effects on
fragile mountain ecosystems need to be carefully assessed and prevented before
developments take place. Also, possible social issues between upstream (often poor mountain
communities) and downstream communities (often the main beneficiaries of energy
production) need to be addressed.

About the Author: Avilash Roul has been writing, advocating, researching, creating
knowledge on Environment and Development in various English Daily media since 2000. He
worked with Down To Earth (fortnightly magazine published in New Delhi, India) for the last
three years. He also contributed regularly in Sundays for a column in New India Express on
environment and development. More recently, Mr. Roul worked as an Assistant South Asia
Regional Coordinator for the Bank Information Center (www.bicusa.org), an independent,
non-profit, non-governmental organization that advocates for the protection of rights,
participation, transparency, and public accountability in the governance and operations of
the World Bank, regional development banks, and the International Monetary Fund.