International Journal of Mechanical and Production

Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD)

ISSN(P): 2249-6890; ISSN(E): 2249-8001
Vol. 4, Issue 6, Dec 2014, 1-8
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

HYDROPOWER: BEST OPTION FOR INDIA

JAMAL ASLAM1 & SYED M. SAAD2
1

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Shinas College of Technology, Shinas, Sultanate of Oman

2

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ibra College of Technology, Ibra, Sultanate of Oman

ABSTRACT
Energy is the primary and most universal measure of all kinds of work by human being and nature. Electricity is a
basic part of nature and it is one of the most widely used forms of energy. India has been an energy-deficient country.
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. Meanwhile, hydro-power is one of the energy sources which oscillate between aspiration and
achievements Hydropower is perceived as an environment-friendly, low-cost source of electricity that relies on proven
technology. The Government is accordingly giving priority to hydropower generation projects in both public and private
sectors. Recent power policies have attracted good response from private entrepreneurs. In this regard, hydropower appear
to be one of the most efficient and effective solutions for clean and sustainable energy development in India.
Power generating total installed capacity in India is of 1, 27,056 MW, which includes 33,194 MW from hydro.
Indias geographical location has several advantages for extensive use of most of the hydropower. This article presents a
review of the potential and utilization of the hydropower in the world and in India.

KEYWORDS: Hydropower, Hydropower Project

INTRODUCTION
Electricity and Energy
Energy is essential to economic and social development and improved quality of life in all countries. Much of the
worlds energy, however, is currently produced and consumed in ways that could not be sustained if technology were to
remain constant and if overall quantities were to increase substantially. Moreover, the production and consumption of
energy is often linked to other major issues in society, including poverty, environmental degradation, and security
challenges [1]. Electricity is a basic part of nature and it is one of the most widely used forms of energy and there has been
a rapid rise in the use of energy resources. The provision of reliable and affordable electricity is essential for improving
public health, providing modern information and education services and saving people from subsistence tasks. Historically,
economic growth has been highly correlated with electricity use. For the 7-8% growth rate that India aspires for, its energy
needs will increase correspondingly. The Economic growth calls for increasing use of energy and the challenge is to
provide desired quality power in a sustainable manner and at reasonable cost. There is a need to tap all possible sources of
energy. The vast majority (80 per cent) of energy today is provided from thermal sources, i.e. coal, gas and oil; but there
are growing global concerns regarding the lack of sustainability of these forms of energy that bring into question their use
in a long-term energy strategy. The global electricity production has more than doubled over the past 22 years, though
access is highly skewed between and within countries. Almost 2 billion people, both urban and rural poor, have no access
to electricity at all [2].
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Jamal Aslam & Syed M. Saad

Hydropower
Hydropower is a renewable, non-polluting and environmentally benign source of energy. It is perhaps the oldest
renewable energy technique known to the mankind for mechanical energy conversion as well as electricity generation.
Hydropower represents use of water resources towards inflation free energy due to absence of fuel cost with mature
technology characterized by highest prime moving efficiency and spectacular operational flexibility. Hydro power is
currently the world's largest renewable source of electricity, accounting for 6% of worldwide energy supply or about 15%
of the world's electricity. The most large hydro-electric schemes being planned today are coming up against a great deal of
opposition from environmental groups and native people.
The world's total technically feasible hydro potential is estimated at 14 320 TWh/year, of which about
8100 TWh/year is currently considered economically feasible for development. About 700 GW (or about 2600 TWh/year)
is already in operation, with a further 108 GW under construction. Most of the remaining potential is in Africa, Asia and
Latin America. A study by the Utility Data Institute in the USA predicts that a world total of 695 GW of new capacity will
come on line in the next ten years from all sources, 22 per cent of which will be hydro (26 per cent gas, 27 per cent
coal).Hydropower at present supplies about 20 per cent of the world's electricity. If all of the economically feasible
potential was to be developed, and it could substitute fossil-fuelled thermal plants, global CO2 production could be reduced
by between 4700 to 7000 million tons a year. It supplies more than 50 per cent of national electricity in 68 countries, more
than 90 per cent in 22 countries and more than 99 per cent in 13 countries. The remaining technically and economically
feasible potential, appropriately implemented, could play the greatest role in improving living standards of developing
countries, where the population is predicted to increase to 8.6 billion by the year 2050. Realistically energy needs will be
met by both renewable and non-renewable sources, but clearly the maximum use should be made of renewable energy to
limit pollution [3].
Hydro Compared with Other Generation Options
In comparison with hydropower, thermal plants take less time to design, obtain approval, build, and pay back.
However, they have higher operating costs, typically shorter operating lives (~25 years), are important sources of air, water
and soil pollution and greenhouse gases, and provide fewer opportunities for economic spin-offs. Other renewable sources
of power (wind, solar, etc) are valuable options in addition to hydropower in specific contexts, but cannot produce large
amounts of energy in the coming decades, and need back-up supply from other sources [3].

ELECTRICITY SITUATION IN INDIA

India ranked 6th in the world in total energy consumption, whereas 70% of the nation need is fulfilled mainly in
the form of crude oil and natural gas. Coming to the power generation in the country, India has increased installed power
capacity from 1362MW to 112,058MW since independence and electrified more than 500,000 villages. This is an
impressive figure but till now 44% house dont access to electricity (Census2001) and as many as 80,000 villages is yet too
electrified. The electricity supplies not even sufficient to those have electricity connection. 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 %) (Table1).

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.3403

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Hydropower: Best Option for India

Table 1: Installed Electricity Generation Capacity in MW Till 2007[4]

S. No.
1
2
3
4

Indicator Power Generation

Thermal mix
Hydro power
Nuclear power
Renewable power
TOTAL

Capacity End of 2007(%)

86,976 MW (64.5 %),
34,131 MW (24.8 %),
4,120 MW (3.1 %),
10,175 MW (7.6 %).
135,402 Megawatts (MW),

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 presented a 7.5% overall electrical energy
shortage and 11% peaking shortage [4].

HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

At the time of independence in 1947, the installed hydropower capacity was only508MW and Indias installed
Hydel capacity has gone up 43 times from 508 MW at the time of independence to 21 700 MW in 1996-97. Hydel energy
production has gone up twenty seven times from 2.52 B kWh in 1950-51 to 68.63 B kWh in 1996-97[5]. By end of August
2007, the total installed capacity in India was hydro 34,131 MW by hydropower and the government of India expects that
at the end of 2012 the installed capacity by hydropower would be50, 686MW. Power generating total installed capacity in
India is of 135,402 megawatts, which includes 33,1341MW from hydro. Despite hydroelectric projects being recognized as
the most economic and preferred source of electricity, the share of hydropower in India has been declining since 1963.
The hydropower share declined from 50% in 1963 to about 26% in 2005 and 24.8% in 2007. Table 2 shows the Indias
hydropower projects by 5 year plan.
Table 2: India's Hydro Project by Five Year Plan [4]
S. No. Five Year Plan (Duration) Capacity Added (MW)
1
1st(1951-1956)
1,061
2
2nd (1956-1961)
910
3
3rd (1961-1966)
2,153
4
Annual Plans(1966-1969)
1,783
5
4th (1969-1974)
1,058
6
5th (1974-1979)
3,868
7
Annual Plans(1979-1980)
551
8
6th (1980-1985)
3,076
9
7th (1985-1990)
3,848
10
Annual Plans(1990-1992)
887
11
8th (1992-1997)
2,450
12
9th (1997-2002)
4,624
13
10th (2002-2007)
7,862
Source: India Central Electricity Authority

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Total Capacity (MW)

1,061
1,971
4,124
5,907
6,965
10,833
11,384
14,460
18,308
19,165
21,645
26,269
34,131

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The Growth of Hydropower Capacity is Graphically Shown in Figure1

Figure 1: Growth of Hydropower Capacity [4]

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 3) 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 3: India's Hydropower Potential
S.NO.
River Basin
Potential at 60% Load Factor (MW)
1
Indus Basin
19,988
2
Brahamputra Basin
34,920
3
Ganga Basin
10,715
4
Central India Basin
2,740
5
System
6,149
6
East Flowing river system 9,532
7
Total
84,044
Source: India Central Electricity Authority

Probable Capacity (MW)

33,832
66,065
20,710
4,152
9,430
14,511
148,700

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 4).
Impact Factor (JCC): 5.3403

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Hydropower: Best Option for India

Table 4: Indias Identified Hydropower Projects, 2012-2017

S. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
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Project Name
Bharmour
Bajoli Holi
Chirgaon
Dhalua Sidh
Dhamvari Sunda
Harsar
Jhangi/Thopan
Kutehr
Kashang2
Luhari
Pudital Lassa
Renuka Dam
Sainj
Tidong
Thopan Powari
Kashang1 &3
Shongtong Karchang
Baglihar2
Kiru
Kishan Ganga
Kaswar
Parnai
Pakhal Dal
Rattle
Swalkaut
Arkot(Tiuni)
Alaknanda/Badrinath
Bogadiyar Sirkari Bhyal
Mapang Bogadiyar
Bowala Nand Pryag
Devsari Dam
Hanoi/Tiuni
Jakhol Sankari
Lakhwar
Mori Haoni
Jelam Tamak
Maleri Jhelam
Nand Pryag Lingasu
Pala Maneri
Khasiyabara
Rupsibagar
Singoli Bhatwari
Tamak Lata
Taluka Snkari
Tuini Plasu
Intermediate
Gauri Ganga
Shahpur Kandi
Matnar
Dummugudem
Pollvaram MPP
Chinar
Achenkovil
Kundah PSS

River/Tributary
Indus/Ravi
Indus/Ravi
Indus/Beas
Indus/Beas
Indus/Beas
Indus/Ravi
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Ravi
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Satlaj
Ganga/Yamuna
Indus/Beas
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Satlaj
Indus/Chenab
Indus/Chenab
Indus/Jhelm
Indus/Chenab
Indus/Chenab
Indus/Chenab
Indus/Chenab
Indus/Chenab
Ganga-Yamuna-Tons
Ganga-Alaknanda
Ganga/Sarda
Ganga/Sarada
Ganga-Alaknanda
Ganga/Pindar
Ganga/Yamuna
Ganga/Yamuna
Ganga/Yamuna
Ganga/Yamuna
Ganga/Dhauliganga
Ganga/Dhauliganga
Ganga-Alaknanda
Ganga/ Bhagirathi
Ganga/Sarada
Ganga/Sarada
Ganga/Mandakini
Ganga/Dhauliganga
Ganga-Tons
Ganga-Yamuna-Tons
Ganga/Dhauliganga
Gauri /Ganga
Indus/Ravi
Godavari/Indravati
Godavari
Godavari
Chinar/Kauvery
Achenkovil/Kauvery
Pennar/ Kundah

State
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Jammu&Kashmir
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Uttrakhand
Punjab
Chattisgarh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Kerala
Kerala
Tamilnadu

Capacity (Mw)
45
180
46
40
70
60
480
260
60
770
36
40
100
70
480
195
402
450
600
330
520
38
1000
690
1200
70
140
170
200
132
690
42
33
42
93
60
55
141
480
260
210
60
280
140
42
210
120
168
60
320
960
28
30
500
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55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92

Gundia
Ramam St1
Panan
Dikchu
Rangit2
Rangit4
Lachen
Rangyoung
Rukel
Rognichu
Teesta1
Teesta2
Teesta4
Teesta6
Rolop
Siang Middle (Siyom)
Dibbin
Badao
Kapak Leyak
Talong
Ettalin
Attunli
Siyang Lower
Nyamjanchu1
Nyamjanchu2
Nyamjanchu3
Dibang (Joint Venture)
Tawang1
Tawang2
Lohit
Subansari Upper
Subansari Middle
Lower Kopili
Upper Borpani
Tipaimukh
Umium Umtru5
Ganol
Mawhu
TOTAL

Table 4:Contd.,
Gundia/Krishna
Brahamputra/Ramam
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/Teesta
Brahamputra/RangpoChu
Brahamputra/Siyom
Brahamputra/Bichom
Brahamputra/Kameng
Brahamputra/Kameng
Brahamputra/Kameng
Brahamputra/Dibang
Brahamputra/Dibang
Brahamputra/Dibang
Brahamputra/Nyamjanchu
Brahamputra/Nyamjanchu
Brahamputra/Nyamjanchu
Brahamputra/Dibang
Brahamputra/ Tawang
Brahamputra/ Tawang
Brahamputra/ Lohit
Brahamputra/ Subansari
Brahamputra/ Kamla
Brahamputra/ Kalang
Brahamputra/ Kalang
Brahamputra/ Barak
Brahamputra/ Kalang
Brahamputra/ Barak
Brahamputra/ Barak

Karnatka
West Bengal
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Assam
Manipur
Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Meghalaya

400
28
280
96
60
120
210
80
33
96
280
480
495
500
60
1000
100
60
160
160
4000
500
1600
98
97
95
3000
750
750
3000
2000
1600
150
60
1500
36
25
120
38,243

SMALL HYDRO-POWER: GOOD OPTION

Hydro power projects are generally categorized in two segments i.e. small and large hydro. Different countries are
following different norms keeping the upper limit of small hydro ranging from 5 to 50 MW. In India, hydro projects up to
25 MW station capacities have been categorized as Small Hydro Power (SHP) projects. The Ministry of Non-Conventional
Energy Sources, Government of India is assigned the business of SHP up to this capacity
Table 5: Hydropower Capacity in KW
S. No.
1
2
3

Impact Factor (JCC): 5.3403

Category
Micro Hydro
Mini Hydro
Small Hydro

Hydropower Capacity in Kw
Up to 100
101 to 2000
2001 to 25000

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0

Hydropower: Best Option for India

Small Hydro Potential

The World estimated potential of small hydro is of around 180,000 MW. India has as an estimated potential of
about 15,000 MW with perennial flow rivers, streams and a large irrigation canal network with dams & barrages. Of this,
4,404 potential sites with an aggregate capacity of 10,477 MW have been identified. State-wise details of the identified
sites are given in Table 5. 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
Table 6: State Wise Identified Small Hydel Sites Up To 25 MW Capacity [6]
S. No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29

Name of State
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhasigarh
Goa
Gujrat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu&Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karantaka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharshtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajsthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttranchal
West Bengal
A&N Island

Identified Number of Site

286
492
90
92
174
3
290
22
323
201
89
230
198
85
234
96
98
88
86
161
78
49
68
147
8
211
354
145
6
4,404

Total Capacity in Mw
254.63
1059.03
148.90
194.02
179.97
2.6
156.83
30.05
1624.78
1207.27
170.05
652.61
466.85
336.32
599.47
105.63
181.50
190.32
181.39
156.76
65.26
27.26
202.75
338.92
9.85
267.061
1478.235
182.62
6.40
10477.34

CONCLUSIONS
India, with its young population and growing energy demand per person, its fast growing urbanization, and its
economic development, has been one of the fast growing power markets of the world for the last two decades. Hydropower
is renewable with a proven track record and technology. No fuel is needed and operation and maintenance costs are low.
It has many environmental benefits as well; hardly any atmospheric pollutants are emitted in hydropower generation.
Small hydro powers are beneficial for small communities and improving their living standard.
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Jamal Aslam & Syed M. Saad

India has undoubtedly enormous potential for hydropower, only a small portion of which has been exploited so
far. The Government has been making concerted efforts to increase hydropower generation capacity in the country and
recent policies reflect that.
So this paper would contribute toward truly environment friendly utilization of the hydropower.

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Impact Factor (JCC): 5.3403

Index Copernicus Value (ICV): 3.0