India, France in talks for increased cooperation on small hydro projects
India’s ministry for new and renewable energy (MNRE) and France’s AFD are in talks to step up their cooperation on small hydropower projects, said Lise Brueil, the French development agency’s India Director.
“Small hydroelectricity is also a topic where MNRE has been asking us to see what we can do more. There is quite a lot of hydroelectricity in France, including small hydro, which has quite a lot of potential without having too much environmental impact,” said Breuil.
MNRE didn’t immediately reply to emailed queries.
Mint had earlier reported that the Indian government was working on a scheme to promote small hydro, which is classified as a project with a capacity of 25 MW or under.
Small hydro projects are considered to be less environmentally damaging than larger projects, given that they do not need reservoirs.
So not only do small hydro projects not produce methane, a greenhouse gas, these also do not require large-scale displacement of local communities.
AFD has experience working on hydro projects in Himachal Pradesh. The agency provided 80 million euros in financial assistance to Himachal Pradesh Power Corp. Ltd for the development of hydropower plants. The project began in 2017.
“The project aims to finance two run-of-river hydropower plants, Chanju III (48 MW) and Deothal Chanju (30 MW), located upstream from each other in the Chanju river basin. They will be built and operated by HPPCL,” AFD had announced at the time.
Renewable energy has been a key highlight of AFD’s activities in India, with a focus on promoting solar power, hydroelectricity and energy efficiency.
It has partnered with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), as well as provided financial and technical assistance for private sector projects in solar power, wind, biomass and hydropower.
Solar will be a key focus, indicated Breuil. In 2021, AFD signed a letter of intent with the Solar Energy Corporation of India to develop a floating solar power system in Jharkhand.
Breuil also pointed to AFD’s efforts in setting up the Green Indian Financial System initiative to raise financing and foster dialogue on green finance in India. GIFS is convened by AFD, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation.
India’s hydropower generation potential is estimated at 145,320 MW, as per information provided by the ministry of power. Around 29% of that potential has been developed, while another 10.3% is under development, which is a lower utilisation rate than that in the United States and European Union countries.
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Published: 13 Dec 2023, 05:53 PM IST
