Hydro power investments gain ground
27 Feb 2004
New Delhi: To ensure the long term power situation in the country, the central government is placing greater reliance on hydro power. This was indicated by R V Sahi, secretary, ministry of power, at a conference on Hydro Power in India, co-organised by the Energy Ministry in New Delhi.
According to Shahi, the government is looking at a total of 162 hydro power projects, of which feasibility studies have already been carried out for about 70. The 10th plan carried a budget of approximately Rs. 25,000 crore for investments in the energy sector, of which Rs. 17,000 crores is to be spent on hydro power projects. The proportion of hydro power within the energy mix, is currently 25 per cent down from was 40 per cent a few decades ago.
When asked for an interim goal, Shahi explained that the government intends to set a first milestone with 35,000 MW newly-installed hydro-generation capacity by 2012.The conference came in the wake of the Government's plan to set up new hydro generating capability of the order of 50,000 MW over the next 13 years.
Large hydro power projects are to be commissioned this year, among them Nathpa Jhakri (Himachal Pradesh), which, after completion will be the most powerful in the country.
