Hydro power gathers stream

An overview of how new technologies will drive hydro power to come on stream

India is going big on renewable. The scaling up of capacity of renewable energy to 175 GW by 2022, which will include 100 GW of solar power projects, 60 GW of wind power projects, 10 GW of biomass power project and 5 GW of small hydro projects, will bring in tremendous impetus to India’s clean energy program. With our climate change commitment, this is going to be a major focus for the nation. Increasingly, renewable energy technologies are becoming more and more cost competitive with conventional energy sources like thermal and hydro, but also more reliable and safe.

Explaining how the new technologies will drive hydro power to come on stream, Anil Sardana, CEO and MD, Tata Power says, “In hydro power, with the help of technology, flowing water is used to create energy that can be captured and turned into clean electricity. Hydro power is a mature technology and will produce cost-effective, low carbon, renewable electricity. Technologies such as river-run, hydro systems, also called hydrokinetic power, sit in running waterways like rivers, irrigation canals and even wastewater ditches, and generate power without needing to build a massive dam that interrupts water flow completely. That allows other users of the waterway—from ships to fish—unobstructed access while power is generated.” In line with this Tata Power and Norway-based SN Power entered into an exclusive partnership to develop hydropower projects in India and Nepal with an intention to have a 20 – 25 per cent contribution from ‘clean power sources’. “New technologies in the new and renewable energy space will play a critical role in fulfilling the needs of coming generations. It will facilitate the delinking of economic growth, energy demand and environmental effects,” Sardana says.

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