Hydro Energy

Overview

A Small Hydro Project (SHP) is the development of hydroelectric power which harnesses energy from flowing or falling water from rivers, rivulets, artificially created storage dams or canal drops for generation of electricity. The capacity of SHP is up to 25 MW.

Basic Principle of Hydro Power

The power output of a hydro project is determined by the following formula:

Small Hydro Power

India has a history of about 120 years of hydropower. The first small hydro project of 130 kW was commissioned in the hills of Darjeeling in 1897, marking the development of hydropower in India. The Sivasamudram project of 4500 kW was the next to come up in Mysore district of Karnataka in 1902, for supply of power to the Kolar gold mines. Till Independence (1947), the country had an installed capacity of 1362 MW, which included 508 MW hydropower projects, mainly small and medium. As per MNRE, the estimated potential of small hydro power plant is 20 GW across the country.

Depending upon the capacity of the project, a Small Hydro Project can be classified as:

Small Hydro Projects on Hill Streams

Small streams with steep bed slopes are available in the hills, giving rise to medium as well as high head projects utilising small discharges. These schemes are normally run of the river type with a small diversion structure to divert the flows through the head regulator located in the intake portion of the diversion structure. The water conductor system would usually comprise of a diversion and head regulator, a power channel, a desilting basin, forebay, penstock, power house and a tail race leading from the power house to the stream.

Small Hydro Projects on Canal Falls / Dam Toe

Irrigation canals carrying relatively high but assured discharges have several falls along their route. Small hydel projects utilising low heads can be constructed at such falls. Small hydel projects can also be located just downstream of a dam, barrage or similar structure to utilise the difference in the water level in the reservoir and in the canal downstream. A bypass channel to bypass the flows adjacent to the fall structure is constructed and the power house is constructed in the bypass channel. The bypass channel is suitably connected to the main channel.

Cabinet Approved Measures to Promote Hydro Power Sector

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved the following measures to promote the Hydro Power Sector:

• Large Hydropower Projects to be declared as Renewable Energy source (as per existing practice, only hydropower projects less than 25 MW are categorized as Renewable Energy).
• HPO as a separate entity within non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligation to cover LHPs commissioned after notification of these measures. The trajectory of annual HPO targets will be notified by Ministry of Power based on projected capacity addition plans in the hydropower sector.
• Tariff rationalization measures including providing flexibility to developers to determine tariff by back loading of tariff after increasing project life to 40 years, increasing debt repayment period to 18 years and introducing escalating tariff of 2%.
• Budgetary support for funding flood moderation component of hydropower projects on a case to case basis.
• Budgetary support for funding cost of enabling infrastructure i.e. roads and bridges on case to case basis as per actual, limited to Rs. 1.5 crore per MW for up to 200 MW projects and Rs. 1.0 crore per MW for above 200 MW projects.

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