Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 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.
Bhakra Nangal Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Satluj River in Bhakra Village near Bilaspur in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam forms the Gobind Sagar reservoir.
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda district in Telangana. The dam provides irrigation water to the districts of Palnadu, Guntur, Nalgonda, Prakasam, Khammam, Krishna, and parts of West Godavari. It is also a source of electricity generation for the national grid.
Baglihar Dam, also known as Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The first power project executed by the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation, it was conceived in 1992 and approved in 1996, with construction begun in 1999. The project was estimated to cost US$1 billion. The project consists of two-stage of 450MW each. The first stage of the project was completed in 2008-09 and was dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India. The second stage of the project was completed in 2015–16, and was subsequently dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.
Rawatbhata is a city, Tehsil and Nagar Palika in Chittorgarh District, Rajasthan, India. It is 131 km from Chittorgarh city, 50 km from the nearest city, Kota. The city has eight nuclear power stations, an under-construction nuclear fuel complex and a heavy water plant. Rawatbhata also has the biggest dam of Rajasthan, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, which is built on the Chambal River. The dam is equipped with a 172 MW hydroelectric power station.
Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) is a Government-owned power generator which operates in the Damodar River area of West Bengal and Jharkhand states of India to handle the Damodar Valley Project, the first multipurpose river valley project of independent India. Indian Astrophysicist Meghnad Saha, the former chief architect of river planning in India, prepared the original plan for the Damodar Valley Project. The statutory corporation operates both thermal power stations and hydel power stations under the ownership of Ministry of Power, Government of India. DVC is headquartered in the Kolkata city of West Bengal, India.
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, thus 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.
The Rana Pratap Sagar Dam is a gravity masonry dam of 53.8 metres (177 ft) height built on the Chambal River at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in India. It is part of integrated scheme of a cascade development of the river involving four projects starting with the Gandhi Sagar Dam in the upstream reach in Madhya Pradesh and the Jawahar Sagar Dam on the downstream with a terminal structure of the Kota Barrage in Rajasthan for irrigation.
The Vaigai Dam is built across the Vaigai River near Andipatti, in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu, southern India. Near the dam, the Government of Tamil Nadu has constructed an Agricultural Research Station for researching the growing of a variety of crops, including rice, sorghum, blackgram, cowpea and cotton.
Jayakwadi dam is an earthen dam located on Godavari river at the site of Jayakwadi village in Paithan taluka of Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra, India. It is a multipurpose project. The water is mainly used to irrigate agricultural land in the drought-prone Marathwada region of the state. It also provides water for drinking and industrial usage to nearby towns and villages and to the municipalities and industrial areas of Sambhajinagar and Jalna districts. The surrounding area of the dam has a garden and a bird sanctuary.
The Ponmudi Dam is a concrete gravity dam built across the Panniyar river which is a tributary of Periyar river at Konnathady panchayath of Konnathadi village in Idukki district of Kerala, India. The dam was constructed in 1963 as a part of a hydroelectric project. Construction was led by E.U.Philipose, Superintending Engineer, Kerala State Electricity Board. It has a length of 288.80 metres (947.5 ft). The hydropower component of the dam has an installed capacity of 30 MW with firm power of 17 MW, generating 158 GWh annually. Taluks through which the river flow are Udumbanchola, Devikulam, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunadu, Aluva, Kodungalloor and Paravur.
The Kalpasar Project or the Gulf of Khambhat Development Project envisages building a 30 km dam across the Gulf of Khambat in India for establishing a huge fresh water coastal reservoir for irrigation, drinking and industrial purposes. The project with 30 km sea dam will have the capacity to store 10,000 million cubic meters fresh water, equating to 25% of Gujarat’s average annual rainwater flow, from the rivers like Narmada, Mahi, Dhadhar, Sabarmati, Limbdi-Bhagovo, and two other minor rivers. A 10 lane road link will also be set up over the dam, greatly reducing the distance between Saurashtra and South Gujarat. The project, which will create world's largest freshwater lake in marine environment, will cost INR90,000 crore or US$12.75 billion excluding the cost of tidal power plant. Project entails construction of the main "Kalpasar dam" across Gulf of Khambat and another Bhadbhut barrage on Narmada river, as well as a canal connecting the two.
Dul Hasti is a 390 MW hydroelectric power plant in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, India built by NHPC. The power plant is a run-of-the-river type on the Chenab River, in a rugged, mountainous section of the Himalayas, and several hundred kilometers from larger cities in the Jammu Division. It consists of a 70 m (230 ft) tall gravity dam which diverts water through a 9.5 km (5.9 mi) long headrace tunnel to the power station which discharges back into the Chenab. The project provides peaking power to the Northern Grid with beneficiary states being Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh. It was constructed between 1985 and 2007.
The Pandoh Dam is an embankment dam on the Beas River in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, India. Under the Beas Project, the dam was completed in 1977 and its primary purpose is hydroelectric power generation. Part of a run-of-the-river power scheme, it diverts the waters of the Beas to the southwest through a 38 km (24 mi) long system of tunnels and channels. The water is used for power generation at the Dehar Power House before being discharged into the Sutlej River, connecting both rivers. The power house has an installed capacity of 990 MW. The system diverts 256 cumecs of Beas waters to the Satluj River. The project was completed in 1977.
The Neelum–Jhelum Hydropower Plant is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power project in Azad Kashmir (AJK) designed to divert water from the Neelum River to a power station on the Jhelum River. The power station is located 42 km (26 mi) south of Muzaffarabad, and has an installed capacity of 969 MW. Construction on the project began in 2008 after a Chinese consortium was awarded the construction contract in July 2007. After many years of delays, the first generator was commissioned in April 2018 and the entire project was completed in August 2018 when the fourth and last unit was synchronized with the national grid on 13 August and attained its maximum generation capacity of 969 MW on 14 August 2018. It will generate 5,150 GWh per year at the levelised tariff of Rs 13.50 per unit for 30 years.
Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station is a thermal power plant located in Chandrapur district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The power plant is one of the coal based power plants of MAHAGENCO. The coal for the power plant is sourced from Durgapur and Padmapur Collieries of Western Coalfields Limited. The plant was officially inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 8 October 1984.The PM was taken around in the Control Room and Turbine house by C.N.Swamy Chief Engineer Generation P&P.
The Papanasam dam also known as Karaiyar Dam is located 49 kilometres (30 mi) away from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, India. The dam is used to irrigate 86,107 acres (34,846 ha) of paddy fields in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts.
Basava Sagar Dam, previously known as Narayanpura Dam, is a dam constructed across the Krishna River at Yadgir District, Karnataka State, India. The reservoir that it impounds is known as Basava Sagar, and has a total storage capacity of 37.965 tmcft (1.075 km³), with 30.5 tmcft (0.85 km³) live storage. The full reservoir level is 492.25 m MSL and the minimum draw down level is 481.6 m MSL. It was a single purpose project meant only for irrigation, but downstream electrical generation and drinking water considerations enter into its management. The dam is 29 meters high and over 10.637 kilometres (6.610 mi) long, and has 30 gates for water release. 22 Spillway Gates are present in the Dam It took Rs. 50.48 crore to complete.
Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam is a dam across the Mahi River. It is situated 16 kilometres from Banswara town in Banswara district Rajasthan, India. The dam was constructed between 1972 and 1983 for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation and water supply. It is the longest dam and second largest dam in Rajasthan. It is named after Jamnalal Bajaj. It is the biggest multipurpose project for tribal area of Rajasthan.
Kolab Dam is a gravity dam situated near Jeypore town in Koraput district of Odisha, India. The dam impounds Kolab river which is a tributary of Godavari river.
