Hydro Power Development

Installed Capacity as on 31st May 2021

Hydro: 46209 MW
Thermal: 234,728 MW
Nuclear: 6,780 MW
Renewable: 95,012 MW

Total Installed Capacity of India: 382,730 MW

% of Hydro amongst all India capacity: 12%

Advantages of Hydro Power

 Flexibility
 Ramping
 Peaking Capability
 Frequency Response
 Part load operation capability for maintaining reserves
 Load Following Capability
 Energy Storage Capability
 Multiple start-stop operation
 Dynamic VAR support – Synchronous condenser operation
 Black-start capability
Apart from above the Hydro Power also helps in following way:
 Helps in the fighting Climate Change & Sustainability issues, helps in bringing down carbon
emissions & carbon footprint.
 Helps in providing inexpensive power, especially once the Project achieves financial
breakeven/depreciates its assets as Operations & Maintenance costs are much lower &
consistent (independent of cost escalations in fuel) as compared to Thermal Power Plants.
 Hydropower provides high level of service to power system (reliability, flexibility, efficiency).
 Best available option for reducing GHG emissions and present as a good candidate for
CDM benefits.
 Remote area development- Improves infrastructure of interior areas and local population
gets manifold advantages including better economy, job opportunities, education &
healthcare facilities and connectivity &communication facilities.
 Multipurpose Hydro power projects- Help in flood moderation, irrigation, navigation and
drinking water requirement.
 Catchments of river basins get developed as Catchment Area are treated by the Hydro
Project Developers. This helps in curtailing massive soil erosion & checking landslides in
mountainous regions.
 With relative independence from international market like oil prices, hydropower involves no
extra foreign exchange outgo.
 Hydropower is a no-inflation power as Water- the ‘raw material’ for power generation is free
of inflation.

Challenges in Hydro Power Development

1. Hydro Power Projects are Site specific.
2. Location disadvantage
 3. Lengthy process of preparation of DPR and clearances having uncertainty of time line
and
shortage of people with clearing agencies. e.g.
Land Acquisition, Environment, Forest &Wildlife clearances& Forest Rights Settlement
Project features, layout plan, land requirement and certain environment management
plans are required for forest clearance.
4. Scarcity of Result Oriented Reputed Contractors / Skilled technicians/ workers.
5. Non-Availability of Grid Power during Construction phase of Project.
6. Security concerns.
7. Inadequate infrastructure / Lack of Communication system
8. Evacuation of power from remote generation sites.
9. Public awareness- There is inadequate public involvement during the project planning
stage conducted by the Government Agencies and limited or no effort is taken to gain
public acceptance through public involvement and transparency.
10. Intermittent stoppage of projects due to local agitations & frequent bandhs in entire North-
Eastern states resulting in time and cost overrun.

11. Geological surprises

The Way Forward

 The growing of Renewable (Solar/Wind) power demand in India warrants the need of
increase in Hydro power generation to stabilize the grid.
 The public at large must be made aware that there is no alternative to the increased
availability of energy in generating economic growth commensurate with the target of
welfare and up-liftment desired by them and the sources of power that are capable of
providing them without perpetual cost liabilities in terms of environmental degradation.
 To counter the problem of location disadvantage, The GoI in collaboration with The State
Govts. and selected Project Developers should priorities stretches of approach roads to
select priority project sites. Govt. issued an order in this regard to facilitate monitory
benefits for construction roads/bridges.
 Amendments in Acts, Rules, Regulations, etc. should be methodically publicized by the
various Ministries of Government of India / State Government. Strict adherence to
Checklists of various clearances should be mandated from the Ministries thereby, keeping
a check on the processes followed and documents required by the Clearing agencies for
various clearances. Various Ministries, in collaboration with State Govt. Departments &
Project Developers could organize regular workshops on new changes & amendments in
Acts, Rules & Regulations so that all stakeholders have the same understanding of the
clearance procedures & processes.
 Inter-state issues could be solved by conducting relevant stakeholder dialogues,
understanding their core issues and addressing these issues through various modes of
discussions, negotiations, arbitrations or at last legal proceedings.
 The Stringent Evaluation process for clearance of a selected project has to be accepted by
all authorities and stake holders.
 After considering all technical & geological aspects at the time of TEC and consultation with
stake holders at the time of public hearing, no midway stoppage of the project on any
account shall be permitted. Once construction starts the project shall be treated as project
of national importance.
 In principal approval on the feasibility report of the project must be given by MoEF so that
later on project is not rejected on account of number of trees to be felled. MOEF may even
give a formula every state and district wise about what number of trees would be allowed to
be felled per hectare considering the density of the forest.
 Wild life areas and national parks or national reserves should be identified & Eco-sensitive
zones well defined by respective state governments before handing over of the project to
the developer.
 Tariff determination for hydro project must be relooked to provide adequate return to the
developer.
 For Regulatory and Control Aspect, strict monitoring of all conditions imposed during
clearances to be monitored strictly.
 PPA has become another difficult area for Hydro Sectors Govt must extend all necessary
help in signing of PPA for Private Hydro Projects.

Main Points of Electricity Act 2018

1. The distribution licensee or supply licensee, as the case may be, shall have the obligation
to supply 24x7 Power to its consumers
2. Promotion of RE
3. Promotion of Grid Security
4. Strengthening of Regulatory Commission
5. A separate National Renewable Energy Policy has been introduced for promotion of
Renewable Energy
6. Renewable Purchase Obligation
7. Non-compliance of the renewable purchase obligation: impose a penalty which shall be
minimum of Rs 1 per unit with maximum of Rs 5 per unit to the extent of shortfall of
energy.
8. Build and maintain reserve including spinning reserve
9. Option for consumers having a connected load of 1 Mega Watt and above with the power
system, may procure at their option electricity through open access
10. Increase Penalty (from 15.0 lakhs to 1.0 crores) for violation of RLDC regulation
11. Time limit of disposal of petition from 120 days to 90 days.
12. Performace of Commission shall be monitored by imndependent committee.
13. No PPA shall be cancelled except with the approval of the Appropriate Commission.
Violation of PPA will lead to penalties Rupees One crore per day
14. The Central Commission shall, after meeting its budgetary requirement for the year, deposit
the surplus funds if any, in the Consolidated Fund of India.
15. Punishment for non-compliance of directions by Appropriate Commission: exceed one lakh
one crore rupees
16. Punishment for non-compliance of orders of directions : fine which may extend to one
lakh one crore rupees
MEASURES TO PROMOTE HYDRO SECTORS:

1) Declaring Large Hydro Projects (>25MW Project) as Renewable Energy Source.

2) Hydro Power Obligation as a Separate entity within Non-solar Renewable Purchase
Obligation (RPO)
3) Tariff Rationalization measures for bringing down hydro power tariff.
a) Being project life of 40 Years, Increase debt repayment period to 18 years and
introducing escalating Tariff of 2%.
4) Budgetary support for flood moderation/Storage Hydroelectric Projects.

a) Rs. 1.5 crore per MW for projects upto 200MW

b) Rs. 1.0 crore per MW projects above 200MW

5) Budgetary support to cost of enabling infrastructure i.e Road & Bridges.

Requirement of Flexible resources for grid stability (NEP):

Definition of Flexibility:
According to the International Energy Agency, the flexibility of a power system refers to "the
extent to which a power system can modify electricity production or consumption in response to
variability, expected or otherwise". Another source described it as "the modification of
generation injection and/or consumption patterns in reaction to an external signal (price signal
or activation) in order to provide a service within the energy system".
Flexibility can therefore refer to the capability to change power supply/demand of the system as
a whole or a particular unit (eg. a power plant or a factory).

Why Flexibility:

The three main services for the stability of a power system are:
 Load balancing
 Frequency response and
 Voltage response

Types of Flexible Resources

 Hydro Power (Pondage/Storage)

 Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plants
 combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT)
 Battery Storage System

HYDRO POWER – A FLEXIBLE SOLUTION (A source of flexibility & reliability)

Among the conventional sources, hydro power is a source of reliable and flexible energy.
Despite its seasonal nature, the flexibility rendered by hydro generators has immense value for
the system Operators. Apart from being a source of low cost energy it has, over the years
contributed to the reliable & secure operation of the grid by means of its inherent flexibility viz.
overload capability, fast ramping & peaking support , Black Start, Spinning Reserve,
Voltage support etc. Its ability to run as a synchronous condenser has significantly helped
in managing reactive power imbalance & controlling voltage excursions thereby ensuring power
quality & voltage stability. Further, the hydro power stations with black start capability have
proven as one of the most reliable resources for fast system recovery after a grid disturbance or
blackout.

Potential

India is endowed with rich hydropower potential of about 150 GW out of which 45.6 GW (31%)
potential has been tapped. Out of this 45.6 GW of the Installed Capacity, 27 GW belongs to
state sector, 3.4 GW is with private sector and around 15.34 GW lies with the central sector
power utilities. However, the capacity harnessed for peaking is of the order of 30-32GW.

One of the reasons behind such inadequate response could be lack of adequate incentive
schemes & market mechanisms to value the ‘flexibility’ rendered by the hydro power stations
which are classically multipurpose projects in India.

Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plants

Pumped storage hydro generators add another dimension to the flexibility by providing an
option to pump the out flowing water in the lower reservoir to upper reservoir to reuse the
water to produce power. The pumped storage hydro power units primarily require a reversible
turbine & availability of a lower reservoir in addition to the conventional reservoir type hydro
power stations.
Pump Storage Power Plants improve overall economy of power system operation, increase
capacity utilization of thermal stations and reduce operational problems of thermal stations
during light load period.
The other advantages of pumped storage development are availability of spinning reserve at
almost no cost to the system and regulating frequency to meet sudden load changes in the
network. PSPs have the ability to provide ancillary benefits such as flexible capacity, voltage
support and Black-start facility etc.

Pumped storage technology has advanced significantly since its original introduction and now
includes adjustable speed pumped turbines which can quickly shift from motor, to generator, to
synchronous condenser modes, for easier and more flexible operation of the Grid.

Potential

Out of 96,524 MW of pumped storage potential identified in India by CEA at 63 sites, at present
9 pumped storage schemes with aggregate installed capacity of 4,786 MW are in operation out
of which only 5 Nos. plants with aggregate installed capacity of 2,600 MW are being operated in
pumping mode. The remaining 4 Nos. plants with an installed capacity of about 2,200 MW are
not operating in pumping mode mainly because the 2nd reservoir is either under construction
or the same has not been constructed.
3 Power stations of capacity 1580MW are under construction. One Pump storage Power plant of
capacity 1000MW is under DPR stage and one power plant of capacity 1200MW is under
examination stage at CEA. Further, 8 pumped storage power plants of capacity 7530MW are
under survey & Investigation stage.

Sl. Description Capacity Present Capacity Capacity Remarks

No. as on 31st Capacity Addition addition
March (MW) during during
2017 2017-22 2022-27
(MW) (MW)
A Hydro Power 39693 40913
Pumped Storage 6823 12000
4785 4786
Power Plants
Total (A) 44478 45699 51301 63301
B Battery Storage
System
C Renewable 89229 117756 100000
Energy
Resources
Total (C ) 89229 175000 275000

Tata Power, AES Corporation, and Mitsubishi Corporation inaugurated India’s first 10 megawatt
(MW) grid-scale battery-based energy storage system in Delhi.

Methods to quantify flexible capacity required for better operating characteristics of

grid.

Flexibility is the capability of the power system to maintain balance between generation and
load under uncertainty. Examples of the term flexibility used in industry include “the ability of a
system to respond to changes in demand and variable generation”, “A flexible electricity system
is one that can respond reliably, and rapidly, to large fluctuations in supply and demand,”.

Flexibility can be characterized along three dimensions: first, the absolute power output
capacity range (MW); second, the speed of power output change, or ramp rate (MW/min); and
third, the duration of energy levels (MWh). A single resource cannot always respond in these
three different dimensions, and the operators need to maintain a diverse portfolio of flexible
components for day-to-day balancing.

Resources that have a larger range between their minimum and maximum MW output can
provide the flexibility to adjust to a wider range of power system conditions. Resources that can
change their output quickly or can be easily turned on or off have a higher ramp rate and are
more flexible because they adjust faster to changes in power system conditions. Resources that
can deliver energy for longer durations increase flexibility because they can address prolonged
disturbances or outages.
In light of increased RE penetration, ensuring system flexibility requirements in multiple time
scales is critical to combat additional variability and uncertainty. Traditional power systems
handle uncertainty from demand and equipment outages using operating reserve, contingency
and security analysis. RE extends existing variability and uncertainty in wide spatial and
temporal scale, which necessitates faster response from system resources.

Large-scale integration of solar and wind energy would impact both power system operation
and planning strategies. For a developing country like India, both issues are equally relevant
and need to be understood in totality.

In view of a large capacity addition programme from Renewable Energy Sources, Hydro and
Gas based power stations are required to play vital role by providing balancing power to
cater to the variability and uncertainty associated with Renewable Energy Sources. Therefore,
suitable measures to ensure timely completion of capacity addition from hydro and adequate
supply of natural gas to stranded gas based power plants may be taken.

Analysis of RE

CHALLENGES

• Non-Controllable Variability
Intermittency Issue • Partial Unpredictability
• Location Dependency
• Ramping Issues
• Power Quality Concern
Technical Challenges
• Reactive Power Support
• Voltage Management
Evacuation Challenges • Transmission Constraint

Flexibility Metrics for Hydro Power Resources

 • Peaking Capability: Hydro generating units, especially at the ROR with pondage ,
storage type and pumped storage type stations, are capable of providing this peaking
service.
• Ramping Capability: Hydro generators are conventionally known for providing fast
ramping support to match the abrupt rise or fall of power system demand during the
transition periods like onset of day / evening peak, fast reduction of solar generation at
dawn, sudden loss of wind generation etc. Ramping rate is approximately 100MW /
min / Machine .
• Frequency Response : All hydro units of 25 MW and above capacity are mandated
under the Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC) to provide primary frequency response
through governor action (RGMO/FGMO).
• Part-load operation for maintaining reserves: Thermal & gas generators have
obvious technical & commercial constraints limiting their capability to operate below a
certain level of generation. Hence, conventionally the hydro units are deployed as most
economical flexible resources for extended part load operation to ensure adequate hot
spinning reserves for the grid.
• Load following - Correlation with Demand: The hydro and gas power units with
smaller time constants of the different control systems are best suited for rendering the
load following service.
• Energy Storage capability (Pumped Storage Hydro Units): Pumped storage
hydro plants (PSP) are one of the most deployed grid level conventional energy storage
devices which can operate in all 4 quadrants of active & reactive energy to cater to the
flexibility requirement of the grid.
• Multiple start-stop operation : This is a typical characteristic of flexible generators
like the hydro/gas power units to undergo multiple start-stop operation during a day to
manage demand variability as well as the intermittency of renewable generation.Number
of Tripping/ Wear & Tear cost increases during lean period due to frequent start stop in
Hydro plants
• Black-start capability: Hydro units having auxiliary consumption in the range of 0.5
to 1% are the most preferred & economical source of black start used for restoration
following a power blackout. The higher inertia & reactive capability of hydro turbines (as
compared to the gas turbines) provides the transient & voltage stability necessary for
island built-up during grid restoration. This places the hydro units on top priority list
during the system recovery after a black-out.
• Quick start capability: the hydropower generation could be set up in just a few
minutes -it is much less than that of other types viz. gas turbines which takes 30 min to
1 hour , or a few hours of the steam generation

Road map for integration of storage systems

Technological and resource milestones

Govt. of India has announced a target of 175 GW Renewable power project by the year 2022
under “Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission” (JNNSM). Looking at the projected plan, it is
necessary to think about the future impact of large scale penetration of Renewable Energy (RE)
sources into the existing grid. The Grid end problems (Voltage and frequency fluctuation) are
classified in to two major categories;
 1. Low voltage distribution grid (Weak Grid condition) problem,
2. National grid problem.

Technical factors limiting interconnection to the distribution networks are:

 Thermal rating of network equipment, such as transformers and feeders, are

always an important consideration

 Voltage regulation, mainly voltage rise, is one of the most important problems
faced at high VRE penetration

 Increased fault levels, due to the contribution of VRE, is also an important

limitation, particularly for MV networks

 Reverse power flows that may affect adversely the operation of voltage
regulators and tap changers, impact on network losses and reliability,

 power quality related issues,

 Islanding considerations and impact on the operation of network protection are

additional technical constraints limiting the hosting capacity of feeders and
distribution networks

There are a variety of challenges to integrate high levels of VRE into electric grids. The
solutions are always system and location dependent and may or may not be applicable to
different situations The solutions to enable a suitable portfolio for VRE integration are:

 Geographic Diversity of VRE

 Renewable Generation Forecasting
 Generator Flexibility
 Energy Storage
 Curtailment
 Demand Shift through Load Control

Regulatory milestones
• Hydro Power Plants are required for RE integration. Although, 1MW hydro cost 10Cr in
INR and its Gestation period is long, but it is efficient, environment friendly, with high
Ramping rate and most suitable for Stability of the National grid with Variable RE.
• Long term planning for Hydro integration with VRE is required.
• Installed capacity of Hydro Power Plant has to be increased for sustainable
development of grid during operation of large amount of VRE.
• Declaring all hydropower (irrespective of size) as Renewable Energy
• Reduction in time for various clearances
• Clearance from NGT at fast track
• HPO (Hydro Power Obligation)
• Incentivizing system support services like Black Start, Reactive Power Support,
• State support for Infrastructure Development at Remote Location, maintaining Local Law
& Order situation.

Urgent Requirement of Hydro

• Existing Hydro Ratio : 14%

• After Integration of Large Renewable Energy , Hydro Ratio will be < 9%
• Need for taking up Big Hydro Projects / Pump Storage
• Hydro Ratio may Improve > 10% by 2025