Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4,500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
The Ravi River is a transboundary river crossing northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. It is one of five rivers associated with the Punjab region.
Tarbela Dam is an earth-filled dam along the Indus River in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is located mainly in the Swabi District Tehsil Topi of the province. It is about 20 km (10 mi) from the city of Swabi KPK, 105 km (65 mi) northwest of Islamabad, and 125 km (80 mi) east of Peshawar. It is the largest earth-filled dam in the world. The dam is 143 metres (470 ft) high above the riverbed and its reservoir, Tarbela Lake, has a surface area of approximately 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi).
The Indira Sagar Dam is the largest dam in India, in terms of volume of water stored in the reservoir. It is located on the Narmada River at the town of Narmada Nagar, Punasa in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in India. The foundation stone of the project was laid by the prime minister of India Indira Gandhi on 23 October 1984. The construction of the main dam started in 1992. The downstream projects of ISP are Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, and Sardar Sarovar Project. To build it, a town of 22,000 people and 100 villages was displaced.
Salal Dam, also known as Salal Hydroelectric Power Station, is a run-of-the-river hydropower project on the Chenab River in the Reasi district of the Jammu and Kashmir. It was the first hydropower project built by India in Jammu and Kashmir under the Indus Water Treaty regime. After having reached a bilateral agreement with Pakistan in 1978, with significant concessions made to Pakistan in the design of the dam, reducing its height, eliminating operating pool, and plugging the under-sluices meant for sediment management, India completed the project in 1987. The concessions made in the interest of bilateralism damaged the long-term sustainability of the dam, which silted up in five years. It currently runs at 57% capacity factor. Its long-term future is uncertain.
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage. A plant without pondage is subject to seasonal river flows, so the plant will operate as an intermittent energy source. Conventional hydro uses reservoirs, which regulate water for flood control, dispatchable electrical power, and the provision of fresh water for agriculture.
NHPC Limited is an Indian public sector hydropower company that was incorporated in 1975 to plan, promote and organise an integrated and efficient development of hydroelectric power. Recently it has expanded to include other sources of energy like solar, geothermal, tidal, and wind.
The Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project consists of the construction of several hydroelectric power dams in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Construction work on the project was commenced by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in April 2009 and various hydro dams will be constructed in phases over a span of 15–20 years.
Rangit Dam, which forms the headworks of the Rangit Hydroelectric Power Project Stage III, is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power project on the Ranjit River, a major tributary of the Teesta River in the South Sikkim district of the Northeastern Indian state of Sikkim. The project's construction was completed in 1999. The project is fully functional since 2000. The project was built at a cost of Rs 4922.6 million. The average annual power generation from the 60 MW project is 340 GWh with firm power of 39 MW.
Chamera II is a run of the river hydroelectric dam built by NHPC India. It is a 300 MW project built on the Ravi River in Himachal Pradesh. It was commissioned in March 2004.
The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the second largest hydroelectric power plant in India, just after the Tehri Dam Project. It is a complex project with four dams including the largest dam on the Koyna River, Maharashtra, hence the name Koyna Hydroelectric Project. The project site is in Satara district.
The Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Its dam diverts water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin. It is located near Dharmahama Village, 5 km (3 mi) north of Bandipore in the Kashmir valley and has an installed capacity of 330 MW.
The Ratle Hydroelectric Plant is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station, with permitted pondage under the Indus Water Treaty, currently under construction on the Chenab River, downstream of the village near Drabshalla in Kishtwar district of the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The project includes a 133 m (436 ft) tall gravity dam and two power stations adjacent to one another. Water from the dam will be diverted through four intake tunnels about 400 m (0.25 mi) southwest to the power stations. The main power station will contain four 205 MW Francis turbines and the auxiliary power station will contain one 30 MW Francis turbine. The installed capacity of both power stations will be 850 MW. On 25 June 2013, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the dam. Pakistan has frequently alleged that it violates the Indus Waters Treaty.
Lakhwar-Vyasi Dam project on Yamuna River, includes under-construction Lakhwar Dam and Power Station, Vyasi Dam, Hathiari Power Station and Katapathar Barrage, near the Lakhwar town in Kalsi block of Dehradun district of Uttarakhand in India, for the purpose of irrigation of 40,000 hectare land and total 927 MW hydroelectric power generation. "Lakhwar Dam" is a gravity dam near the Lohari village with 300MW power generation capacity. "Vyasi Dam" will be built 5 km downstream along with 120 MW "Hathiari Power Station" further 0.5 km downstream. "Katapathar Barrage", with the maximum ponding water level at 514.5m elevation, will be built further 2.75 km downstream of the Hathiari Power Station to supply the water to stakeholder states. Project will hold 580 million cubic metres water during monsoon and release into Yamuna during dry months.
The Kulekhani Dam is a rock-fill dam on the Kulekhani River near Kulekhani in the Indrasarowar Rural Municipality of Makwanpur District in Bagmati Province, Nepal. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports the 60 MW Kulekhani I, 32 MW Kulekhani II and 14 MW Kulekhani III Hydropower Stations. Construction began in 1977 and Kulekhani I was commissioned in 1982. Kulekhani II was commissioned in 1986 and a third power station, the 14 MW Kulekhani III was expected to be commissioned in May 2015 but was delayed due to issues with the builder. The US$117.84 million project received funding from the World Bank, Kuwait Fund, UNDP, Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund and OPEC Fund. It is owned by Nepal Electricity Authority.
Sewa-II is a hydroelectric power station located in the Himalayan region in Kathua District Jammu and Kashmir state. It is constructed by NHPC Limited on the Sewa River, a tributary of the Ravi River. Commissioned in 2010, it has a surface power house with the capacity of 120 MW, comprising three Pelton wheel units of 40 MW each, which are fed through a 10km headrace tunnel from the Sewa II Reservoir, giving a maximum water head of 599m. The Sewa II Dam has a height of 53m. The power station generates 534 GW⋅h annually in a 90% dependable year. The beneficiary states of the project include Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
Kallarkutty Dam is a gravity dam built on the Muthirapuzha river, a tributary of the Periyar river, as part of the Neriamangalam Hydroelectric Project at Kallarkutty in Vellathooval panchayat of Idukki district in Kerala, India. The water discharged from the Chenkulam dam's powerhouse and the Muthirapuzha river is diverted to the Neriamangalam powerhouse near Panamkutty above the Pambla dam. The Hydroelectric Project was commissioned on 27 January 1961 to generate 45 MW of power using 3 turbines with a capacity of 15 MW. In 2006, the project was upgraded from 45 MW to 52.65 MW. Taluks through which release flow are Udumbanchola, Devikulam, Idukki, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunadu, Aluva, Kodungalloor and Paravur. The Project was led by Kerala State Electricity Board Engineer E.U. Philipose
Moozhiyar Dam is a gravity dam located close to Kakki reservoir in Seethathodu panchayath of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala, India. The Kakkad Hydroelectric Project is powered by water from the dam. The water level is set at 192.5 meters. KSEB is responsible for the maintenance of the dam and other ancillary works. The Kakkad Hydroelectric Project generates 50 MW of electricity using 2 turbines of 25 MW each year. The annual output is 262 MU. The machine was commissioned on 16 September 1999. Kakkad Hydro electric Project is the second stage development of Pamba river basin. The installed capacity is 50 MW. This scheme utilises the tail race water from Sabarigiri power station and flow received from Moozhiyar and Velluthode rivers. Two dams feed water to the powerhouse. The Moozhiyar Dam creates the main reservoir of this project. Taluks through which release flow are Ranni, Konni, Kozhencherry, Thiruvalla, Chengannur, Kuttanadu, Mavelikara and Karthikappally.
Kundala Dam, also known as Setuparvatipuram Dam, is a masonry gravity dam built on Muthirapuzha River in Mattupetty panchayat of Idukki district in Kerala, India. It is part of the Pallivasal Hydroelectric Project, the first hydroelectric project in Kerala. The dam is considered to be Asia's first arch dam. It has a height of 46.93 m (154.0 ft) and length of 259.38 m (851.0 ft). Release from dam is to river Palar and taluks through which release flow are Udumbanchola, Devikulam, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunadu, Aluva, Kodungalloor and Paravur.
Veluthodu dam is a part of Kakkad Hydro Electric Project and is located in Seethathode panchayath of Ranni Taluk in Pathanamthitta District of Kerala, India. It's a Concrete-Gravity dam built across the Veluthodu river, a tributary of Kakkad River which is again a tributary of Pamba River. The dam is built primarily for electricity. This diversion dam diverts water to the water conductor system from Moozhiyar reservoir to Kakkad Power Station. This power station utilises the tail race water from Sabarigiri power station and flow received from moozhiyar and velluthode rivers. After power generation, water from Kakkad power station is released to the Kakkad River. Taluks through which release flow are Ranni, Konni, Kozhencherry, Thiruvalla, Chengannur, Kuttanadu, Mavelikara and Karthikappally. It is operated by Kerala State Electricity Board.
