India plans to begin a massive hydroelectric project close to the Chinese border

13 Jun 2023 , 12:30 PM

An important stage in the nation’s energy transition, India is about to launch a 20-year-old gigantic hydropower project.

The Subansiri Lower project, which crosses the provinces of Assam and Arunachala Pradesh in the nation’s northeast, will begin trial runs in July under the direction of the state-run hydropower company NHPC Ltd. Rajendra Prasad Goyal, the finance director, predicts that the first unit will be put into service in December. All eight units will be put into service by the end of 2024, he predicted.

As the intermittent output from solar and wind power increases, hydropower is viewed as essential for balancing the grid due to its capacity to react swiftly to fluctuations in electricity demand. However, objections and legal action brought on by worries about the environmental harm caused the 2-gigawatt project, which was begun in 2003, to be postponed.

More than three times the initial estimate, the project’s price soared to Rs 212.5 billion ($2.6 billion). After eight years of being put on hold, the National Green Tribunal approved the work’s resumption in 2019. Due to opposition to dams, the nation has only been able to utilise around a third of its 145 gigawatt hydropower potential.

‘Before we can begin construction on a hydroelectric project, we need to obtain close to 40 approvals from several departments. At this point, all inspections ought to be completed, according to Goyal. ‘Any halts in work after it has started are problematic.’

Large dams are another method used by India to stimulate the local economy in regions near its sensitive borders with China and Pakistan. The 2.9-gigawatt Dibang project, the largest hydropower plant India has planned to build, is nearing completion, and NHPC is finalizing plans to award building contracts for it.

The government has designated major dams as clean energy sources to promote hydropower. As a result, provincial power suppliers are compelled to purchase hydropower before electricity is derived from fossil fuels. Additionally, the government has promised to occasionally provide fiscal help for civil construction and flood mitigation projects.

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