Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the

gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity consumption, and 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010, which continues the rapid rate of increase experienced between 2003 and 2009.[1] Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatthours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic electricity use. There are now three hydroelectricity plants larger than 10 GW: the Three Gorges Dam in China, Itaipu Dam in Brazil, and Guri Dam in Venezuela.[1] The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a competitive source of renewable electricity. The average cost of electricity from a hydro plant larger than 10 megawatts is 3 to 5 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.[1] Hydro is also a flexible source of electricity since plants can be ramped up and down very quickly to adapt to changing energy demands. However, damming interrupts the flow of rivers and can harm local ecosystems, and building large dams and reservoirs often involves displacing people and wildlife and requires significant amounts of carbon-intensive cement.[1] Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants.[2]

he potential for hydro-electric potential in terms of installed capacity in India is estimated to be about 148,700 MW 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.

Below is a list of the Major Hydro Power Plants in India

Name Babail

Location Uttar Pradesh

Operator Uttar Pradesh Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd

Configuration Important Facts 2 X 1.5 MW tube The Babail minihydel project was approved in Sep 1986 and was awarded to PGM in Sep 1988 as a Rs 6.22cr turnkey project. This plant was acquired in 1996 from Maharashtra Water Resources Dept and overhauled in 1997/98 with assistance from AHEC. The Belka and Babail minihydel projects were approved in Sep 1986 and Belka was awarded to FCC and PGM in Jul 1988 as a total Rs 5.66cr project. Construction on Belka did not start until Dec 1996 after delays in securing forest clearance and land acquisition. The Chenani I&II projects in Udhampur district were inaugurated in 1971 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. They were closed on 25 Feb 2005 following a landslide that damaged a 700m diversion tunnel. Repairs were completed at a cost of Rs 8cr and the plants put back in service in Jun 2008. The dam was part of the world's largest irrigation project, known as Lloyd Barrage. This was a multipurpose scheme which was initiated in 1923 by Sir George

Bhandardara- Maharashtra Dodson1 Lindblom Hydro Power Pvt Ltd Belka Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd

1 X 14.4 MW Francis

2 X 1.5 MW tube

Chenani-1

Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu & 5 X 4.66 MW Kashmir Power Pelton Development Corp

Bhatgar

Maharashtra Maharashtra State Power Generation Co Ltd

1 X 16 MW Kaplan

Ambrose Lloyd, then Governor of Bombay. The project was opened in Jan 1932. Indira Sagar Madhya Pradesh Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corp Ltd 8 X 125 MW Francis NHDC is a joint venture of NHPC and the MP government set up on 1 Aug 2000. Operations commenced in1970

Little Ranjit

West Bengal West Bengal 2 X 1 MW State Electricity Pelton Distribution Co Ltd Jammu & 2 X 500 kW Kashmir Power Francis Development Corp Uttar Pradesh Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd 3 X 10 MW Kaplan

Jammu Canal Jammu & Kashmir

This power station has been out of service since 1995

Matatila

Uttar Pradesh Jammu & Kashmir

This dam was built between 1952 and 1964 on the Betwa River in the Ganga Basin. Built on the Chenab River this power station has a 118m high, 630m long rockfill dam and a 113m high, 450m long concrete dam plus an 11m, 2,46km tailrace tunnel. The reservoir is 33km long. Project development started in 1970. This 949m long concrete gravity dam reaches a maximum height of 53m. The Annual production is expected to be 1.1 TWh. OPCL is a power company promoted by VBC Ferro Alloys Ltd. Samal uses releases from Samal Barrage reservoir on the Brahmani River.

Salal

National Hydro 6 X 115 MW Power Corp Ltd Kaplan

Omkareshwar Madhya Pradesh

Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corp Ltd

8 X 65 MW Francis

Samal

Orissa

Orissa Power 5 X 4 MW SConsortium Ltd Turbine

Indias critical need for power

Severe power shortage is one of the greatest obstacles to Indias development. Over 40 percent of the countrys people -- most living in the rural areas -- do not have access to electricity and one-third of Indian businesses cite expensive and unreliable power as one of their main business constraints. Indias energy shortfall of 10 percent (rising to 13.5 percent at peak demand) also works to keep the poor entrenched in poverty. Power shortages and disruptions prevent farmers from improving their agricultural incomes, deprive children of opportunities to study, and adversely affect the health of families in Indias tropical climate. Poor electricity supply thus stifles economic growth by increasing the costs of doing business in India, reducing productivity, and hampering the development of industry and commerce which are the major creators of employment in the country. Hydropower development -- a key government initiative To boost economic growth and human development, one of the Government of Indias top priorities is to provide all its citizens with reliable access to electricity by 2012. To ensure that the uncovered 40 percent of Indian homes get electricity by 2012, and to serve rising demand from those already being served by the power grid, the government estimates that the country will need to install an additional 100,000 MegaWatts (MW) of generating capacity by 2012, expanding grid-based generation to about 225,000 MW. Given that India added about 23,000 MW during the last Five Year Plan of 2002-2007, this will be quite a quantum jump. The Government of India has decided to acquire an inreasing portion of this additional power from the countrys vast untapped hydropower resources, only 23 percent of which has been harnessed so far. Indias energy portfolio today depends heavily on coal-based thermal energy, with hydropower accounting for only 26 percent of total power generation. The Government of India has set the target for Indias optimum power system mix at 40 percent from hydropower and 60 percent from other sources. Advantages of hydropower When developed in accordance with good environmental and social practices, hydropower plants have the advantage of producing power that is both renewable and clean, as they emit less greenhouse gases than traditional fossil fuel plants and do not emit polluting suspended particulate matter (from the high ash-content of indigenous coal). Hydropower plants can also start up and shut down quickly and economically, giving the network operator the vital flexibility to respond to wide fluctuations in demand across seasons and at different times of the day. This flexibility is particularly important in a highly-populated country like India where household electricity demand is a significant portion of total demand and this demand in concentrated in a short period of time (usually in the evening). As an illustration, if the approximately 150 million households in India were to turn on two 100 watt light bulbs at 7 pm, the power system would experience an instantaneous surge in demand of about 30,000 MW! Today, this peak demand is often met by households turning on small

gasolene and diesel generation units, which, in addition to being polluting, are a serious health hazard in congested areas. And, with rising wealth, households are switching on a lot more than two light bulbs. Although hydropower plants are subject to daily and seasonal variations in water flows (which affects the production of electricity at that point in time), they are not subject to the fluctuations in fuel costs that trouble thermal power plants. While hydropower plants have large up-front capital costs, they also have long and productive lives, which significantly help reduce costs over time. For example, the Bhakra Nangal plant, now more than 40 years old, has operating costs of only Rs 0.10 or US$ 0.002 per unit. Hydropower plants are thus generally cheaper in the long run than natural gas-based plants, which are constantly at risk from fuel price increases in the global market. While India plans to develop mainly run-of-the-river projects, multipurpose hydropower plants with water storage facilities can help manage critical water resources in an integrated manner by serving as flood controllers as well as sources of irrigation and much-needed drinking water. The Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand, for instance, which was commissioned in 2006, today caters to onethird of the drinking water needs of Delhi, Indias capital. Besides which, Indias hydro-resources are largely available in some of the least-developed parts of the country and hydropower plants, if designed appropriately offer significant potential for regional development and poverty alleviation. Hydropower projects that forge equitable systems of benefit-sharing and implement targeted local area development can help local communities improve the quality of their lives quite significantly. Challenges of hydropower development While hydropower plays an important role in the energy and development strategies of India, such natural resource projects are inherently challenging. Environmental and social impacts are inevitable but they can be mitigated. Hydropower development in India has seen significant strides in understanding and addressing these impacts and the lessons learned from past engagements are now being incorporated in project selection and design. These lessons, coupled with suggestions from civil society, have resulted in changes to the laws and regulations that govern hydropower development today. As a result, there have been improvements on the ground, including greater public consultation with people affected by such projects; better monitoring of the environmental and social aspects of projects; and improvements in resettlement policy and practice. The Government has also ensured that the methodology used by Central power agencies to select sites has improved, as has the capacity of various hydropower developing agencies to deal with complexities in project identification, engineering and design. World Bank assistance The Government of India has requested World Bank support for its plans to increase the countrys hydropower capacity. It has also requested Bank assistance to help its power sector agencies build on their recent achievements with the aim of attaining international standards in

hydropower design, construction and operation. The World Bank aims to assist the Government of India in meeting its targets for hydropower expansion in a sustainable manner. This entails not just ensuring financial, economical, and technical soundness but also meeting social practices which have been developed by the industry in recent years, and safeguarding environmental assets for future generations. The Bank has been engaged in hydropower in India since the late 1950s. Several of its past engagements have been difficult, with Bank support for a number of potential hydropower projects, including the Sardar Sarovar project on the river Narmada, being cancelled before they were commissioned. The two most recent Bank engagements, the Nathpa Jhakri and Koyna IV projects which were completed in 2002 and 1998 respectively, have benefited from the lessons (FAQs) of earlier hydropower development, including more socially and environmentally sensitive safeguard policies. Proposed hydropower projects in India At the request of the Government of India, the World Bank is supporting one hydropower project in the country -- the Rampur Hydropower Project downstream from Nathpa Jhakri on the River Satluj in Himachal Pradesh and is currently evaluating proposals for supporting two more hydropower projects in the country - the Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydropower Project on the River Alaknanda in Uttarakhand and the Luhri Hydro Electric Project on the River Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh. While the Rampur Project is under construction, the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti and Luhri Projects are in varying stages of preparation. The World Bank is also assisting the state governments of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand adopt a river-basin approach in the planning and development of cascaded hydropower systems. The two mountain states that have made hydropower generation a significant development priority, had asked for Bank assistance in initiating a River Basin Development Optimization Study that uses the Satluj and Alaknanda rivers as case studies which has been completed and discussions are ongoing on how to take this work forward. The Study also aimed at forging effective and equitable systems of cost-and benefit-sharing among all stakeholders, including developers and operators, affected local communities, and host states.

History of Hydroelectric Power - Nearly 2000 years ago the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour - In the 1700's, hydropower was broadly used for milling of lumber and grain and for pumping irrigation water - Appleton, Wisconsin became the first operational hydroelectric generating station in the United States, in 1882, producing 12.5 kilowatts (kW) of power

- The total electrical capacity generated was equivalent to 250 lights - Within the next 20 years roughly 300 hydroelectric plants were operational around the world - The invention of the hydraulic reaction turbine created the sudden expansion of hydropower - 40% of the United States' electricity was provided by hydroelectric power in the early 1900's

Hydroelectric Power -- what is it? It=s a form of energy a renewable resource. Hydropower provides about 96 percent of the renewable energy in the United States. Other renewable resources include geothermal, wave power, tidal power, wind power, and solar power. Hydroelectric powerplants do not use up resources to create electricity nor do they pollute the air, land, or water, as other powerplants may. Hydroelectric power has played an important part in the development of this Nation's electric power industry. Both small and large hydroelectric power developments were instrumental in the early expansion of the electric power industry. Hydroelectric power comes from flowing water winter and spring runoff from mountain streams and clear lakes. Water, when it is falling by the force of gravity, can be used to turn turbines and generators that produce electricity. Hydroelectric power is important to our Nation. Growing populations and modern technologies require vast amounts of electricity for creating, building, and expanding. In the 1920's, hydroelectric plants supplied as much as 40 percent of the electric energy produced. Although the amount of energy produced by this means has steadily increased, the amount produced by other types of

powerplants has increased at a faster rate and hydroelectric power presently supplies about 10 percent of the electrical generating capacity of the United States. Hydropower is an essential contributor in the national power grid because of its ability to respond quickly to rapidly varying loads or system disturbances, which base load plants with steam systems powered by combustion or nuclear processes cannot accommodate. HOW HYDROPOWER WORKS Hydroelectric power comes from water at work, water in motion. It can be seen as a form of solar energy, as the sun powers the hydrologic cycle which gives the earth its water. In the hydrologic cycle, atmospheric water reaches the earth=s surface as precipitation. Some of this water evaporates, but much of it either percolates into the soil or becomes surface runoff. Water from rain and melting snow eventually reaches ponds, lakes, reservoirs, or oceans where evaporation is constantly occurring.

Moisture percolating into the soil may become ground water (subsurface water), some of which also enters water bodies through springs or underground streams. Ground water may move upward through soil during dry periods and may return to the atmosphere by evaporation. Water vapor passes into the atmosphere by evaporation then circulates, condenses into clouds, and some returns to earth as precipitation. Thus, the water cycle is complete. Nature ensures that water is a renewable resource. Generating Power In nature, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but its form can change. In generating electricity, no new energy is created. Actually one form of energy is converted to another form. To generate electricity, water must be in motion. This is kinetic (moving) energy. When flowing water turns blades in a turbine, the form is changed to mechanical (machine) energy. The turbine turns the generator rotor which then converts this mechanical energy into another energy form -electricity. Since water is the initial source of energy, we call this hydroelectric power or hydropower for short. At facilities called hydroelectric powerplants, hydropower is generated. Some powerplants are located on rivers, streams, and canals, but for a reliable water supply, dams are needed. Dams store water for later release for such purposes as irrigation, domestic and industrial use, and power generation. The reservoir acts much like a battery, storing water to be released as needed to generate power.

The dam creates a Ahead@ or height from which water flows. A pipe (penstock) carries the water from the reservoir to the turbine. The fast-moving water pushes the turbine blades, something like a pinwheel in the wind. The waters force on the turbine blades turns the rotor, the moving part of the electric generator. When coils of wire on the rotor sweep past the generator=s stationary coil (stator), electricity is produced. This concept was discovered by Michael Faraday in 1831 when he found that electricity could be generated by rotating magnets within copper coils. When the water has completed its task, it flows on unchanged to serve other needs. Transmitting Power Once the electricity is produced, it must be delivered to where it is needed -- our homes, schools, offices, factories, etc. Dams are often in remote locations and power must be transmitted over some distance to its users. Vast networks of transmission lines and facilities are used to bring electricity to us in a form we can use. All the electricity made at a powerplant comes first through transformers which raise the voltage so it can travel long distances through powerlines. (Voltage is the pressure that forces an electric

current through a wire.) At local substations, transformers reduce the voltage so electricity can be divided up and directed throughout an area. Transformers on poles (or buried underground, in some neighborhoods) further reduce the electric power to the right voltage for appliances and use in the home. When electricity gets to our homes, we buy it by the kilowatt-hour, and a meter measures how much we use.

While hydroelectric powerplants are one source of electricity, other sources include powerplants that burn fossil fuels or split atoms to create steam which in turn is used to generate power. Gas-turbine, solar, geothermal, and wind-powered systems are other sources. All these powerplants may use the same system of transmission lines and stations in an area to bring power to you. By use of this Apower grid, electricity can be interchanged among several utility systems to meet varying demands. So the electricity lighting your reading lamp now may be from a hydroelectric powerplant, a wind generator, a nuclear facility, or a coal, gas, or oil-fired powerplant or a combination of these. How Power is Computed Before a hydroelectric power site is developed, engineers compute how much power can be produced when the facility is complete. The actual output of energy at a dam is determined by the volume of water released (discharge) and the vertical distance the water falls (head). So, a given amount of water falling a given distance will produce a certain amount of energy. The head and the discharge at the power site and the desired rotational speed of the generator determine the type of turbine to be used. The head produces a pressure (water pressure), and the greater the head, the greater the pressure to drive turbines. This pressure is measured in pounds of force (pounds). More head or faster flowing water means more power. Turbines

While there are only two basic types of turbines (impulse and reaction), there are many variations. The specific type of turbine to be used in a powerplant is not selected until all operational studies and cost estimates are complete. The turbine selected depends largely on the site conditions. A reaction turbine is a horizontal or vertical wheel that operates with the wheel completely submerged, a feature which reduces turbulence. In theory, the reaction turbine works like a rotating lawn sprinkler where water at a central point is under pressure and escapes from the ends of the blades, causing rotation. Reaction turbines are the type most widely used.

An impulse turbine is a horizontal or vertical wheel that uses the kinetic energy of water striking its buckets or blades to cause rotation. The wheel is covered by a housing and the buckets or blades are shaped so they turn the flow of water about 170 degrees inside the housing. After turning the blades or buckets, the water falls to the bottom of the wheel housing and flows out.

Modern

Modern Concepts and Future Role

Hydropower does not discharge pollutants into the environment; however, it is not free from adverse environmental effects. Considerable efforts have been made to reduce environmental problems associated with hydropower operations, such as providing safe fish passage and improved water quality in the past decade at both Federal facilities and non-Federal facilities licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Efforts to ensure the safety of dams and the use of newly available computer technologies to optimize operations have provided additional opportunities to improve the environment. Yet, many unanswered questions remain about how best to maintain the economic viability of hydropower in the face of increased demands to protect fish and other environmental resources. Reclamation actively pursues research and development (R&D) programs to improve the operating efficiency and the environmental performance of hydropower facilities.

Peaking with Hydropower Demands for power vary greatly during the day and night. These demands vary considerably from season to season, as well. For example, the highest peaks are usually found during summer daylight hours when air conditioners are running. Nuclear and fossil fuel plants are not efficient for producing power for the short periods of increased demand during peak periods. Their operational requirements and their long startup times make them more efficient for meeting baseload needs. Since hydroelectric generators can be started or stopped almost instantly, hydropower is more responsive than most other energy sources for meeting peak demands. Water can be stored overnight in a reservoir until needed during the day, and then released through turbines to generate power to help supply the peakload demand. This mixing of power sources offers a utility company the flexibility to operate steam plants most efficiently as base plants while meeting peak needs with the help of hydropower. This technique can help ensure reliable supplies and may help eliminate brownouts and blackouts caused by partial or total power failures. Today, many of Reclamation=s

Pumped Storage Like peaking, pumped storage is a method of keeping water in reserve for peak period power demands. Pumped storage is water pumped to a storage pool above the powerplant at a time when customer demand for energy is low, such as during the middle of the night. The water is then allowed to flow back through the turbine-generators at times when demand is high and a heavy load is place on the system. The reservoir acts much like a battery, storing power in the form of water when demands are low and producing maximum power during daily and seasonal peak periods. An advantage of pumped storage is that hydroelectric generating units are able to start up quickly and make rapid adjustments in output. They operate efficiently when used for one hour or several hours.

Because pumped storage reservoirs are relatively small, construction costs are generally low compared with conventional hydropower facilities.

The water cycle

The water on earth constantly moves through a natural cycle that is perpetually driven by the suns power. It evaporates from lakes, oceans and rivers, cools and condenses to form clouds, precipitates into rain or snow, falls and flows back to the rivers and oceans.

otal Installed Capacity:

Power for All by 2012

Sector State Sector Central Sector Private Sector Total

MW 83,605.65 57,832.63 46,111.34 1,87,549.62

%age 44.57 30.83 24.58

Fuel Total Thermal Coal Gas Oil Hydro (Renewable) Nuclear RES** (MNRE) Total

MW 123758.98 104,816.38 17,742.85 1,199.75 38,848.40 4,780.00 20,162.24 1,87,549.62

%age 65.98 55.88 9.46 0.63 20.71 2.54 10.75 100.00

Electricity sector in India

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Ramagundam Thermal Power Station, Andhra Pradesh

Yamunanagar Thermal Power Station, Haryana commissioned in 2008

The electricity sector in India had an installed capacity of 185.5 Gigawatt (GW) as of November 2011, the world's fifth largest.[1] Thermal power plants constitute 65% of the installed capacity, hydroelectric about 21% and rest being a combination of wind, small hydro, biomass, waste-to-electricity, and nuclear. In terms of fuel, coal-fired plants account for 55% of India's installed electricity capacity, compared to South Africa's 92%; China's 77%; and Australia's 76%. After coal, renewal hydropower accounts for 21%, and natural gas for about 10%.[2][3] In December 2011, over 300 million Indian citizens had no access to electricity.[4][5] Over one third of India's rural population lacked electricity, as did 6% of the urban population. Of those who did have access to electricity in India, the supply was intermittent and unreliable. In 2010, blackouts and power shedding interrupted irrigation and manufacturing across the country. The per capita average annual domestic electricity consumption in India in 2009 was 96 kWh in rural areas and 288 kWh in urban areas for those with access to electricity, in contrast to the worldwide per capita annual average of 2600 kWh and 6200 kWh in the European Union.[6] India's total domestic, agricultural and industrial per capita energy consumption estimate vary depending on the source. Two sources place it between 400 to 700 kWh in 20082009.[7][8] As of January 2012, one report found the per capita total consumption in India to be 778 kWh.[4]

India currently suffers from a major shortage of electricity generation capacity, even though it is the world's fourth largest energy consumer after United States, China and Russia.[9] The International Energy Agency estimates India needs an investment of at least $135 billion to provide universal access of electricity to its population. The International Energy Agency estimates India will add between 600 GW to 1200 GW of additional new power generation capacity before 2050.[5] This added new capacity is equivalent to the 740 GW of total power generation capacity of European Union (EU-27) in 2005. The technologies and fuel sources India adopts, as it adds this electricity generation capacity, may make significant impact to global resource usage and environmental issues.[10] India's electricity sector is amongst the world's most active players in renewable energy utilization, especially wind energy.[11] As of December 2011, India had an installed capacity of about 22.4 GW of renewal technologies-based electricity, exceeding the total installed electricity capacity in Austria by all technologies. Electricity distribution network in India is inefficient compared to other networks in the world. India's network losses exceeded 32% in 2010, compared to world average of less than 15%.[5] Loss reduction technologies, if adopted in India, can add about 30 GW of electrical power, while simultaneously reducing electricity cost and carbon footprint pollution per MWHr used. Key implementation challenges for India's electricity sector include new project management and execution, ensuring availability of fuel quantities and qualities, lack of initiative to develop large coal and natural gas resources present in India, land acquisition, environmental clearances at state and central government level, and training of skilled manpower to prevent talent shortages for operating latest technology plants.[7]

The annual growth in power generation during 11th Plan period is as under: 11th Plan 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Growth in Achievement(%) 6.3 2.7 6.6 5.56

The growth in electricity generation during 2008-09 was constrained due to delay in commissioning of new units during 2008-09, long outages, shortage of coal/gas/nuclear fuel, poor hydrology, etc.

Tehri Dam

Generator Unit 302240N 782850E

Tehri Dam Uttarakhand THDC India Ltd. 4*250, 4*100, 4*250 2400