3 Impressive Hydroelectricity Projects in India

Hydro power is one of the widest used sources of renewable energy across the world today. The electricity generated by the said flow of water and its downward fall, is known as hydro electricity.

With the need for greener and more environmentally friendly sources of power becoming the need of the day, hydro electricity has become an increasingly attractive option which many nations have adopted and are continuing to develop with humongous new projects. India has definitely climbed the charts of countries that are developing hydro power and hydro electricity, with the the entire Asia Pacific region generating a sizeable amount of the world's hydro power.

Hydro electricity is a relatively cheaper form of electricity to manufacture and the fact that is a renewable one, makes it all the more attractive an option. The use of a turbine which is a propeller like device with vertical turning centers

and blades is usually involved which is used to turn a shaft that is the generator for electricity. There are different kinds of methods used to generate the power , with the most common, conventional and widely used ones being the use of a dam and a damming system. When the water from a dam is released gravity makes the water fall downward with a huge force. The movement of the water then in turn moves the blades of the turbine. You will also find other kinds of hydro electricity generating systems like underground power stations, tidal power systems, pumped storage systems and the like.

India is no stranger to hydro power projects and houses some big ones that generate a sizeable amount of electricity then used for various purposes. Some of them are as follows -

1. Bhandardara Hydro Power Plant managed by Dodson Lindbolm Hydro Power Pvt. Ltd. - Due to a lack of sufficient funds the government and Maharashtra Water Resources Dept had privatised the project and given the contract to Dodson Lindbolm Hydro Power Pvt. Ltd. Built at Bhandardara dam, one of the oldest gravity dams, this project was aimed at providing 2 units that could generate big quantities of hydro power.
2. The Nathra Jhakri Dam – The Nathra Jhakri Dam project in the Himachal Pradesh in northern India, is aimed at hydro electric power production with a capacity to generate 1500 MW through an underground power station. The managing, scheduling and despatching work is under the jurisdiction of the Northern Regional Load Despatch Center. It is said to be one of the biggest hydro power projects in the country and took 11 years to complete from its construction in 1993 to the start in 2004.
3. The Salal Hydro Electric Power Station – The Salal Hydro electric power station has the capacity to generate 345 MW of hydro power each from its Stage I and Stage II projects. Based in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, this impressive power station is lodged on the Chenab river. The Stage I of this long researched power station was commissioned in the year 1987, with the Stage II part being developed and redeveloped in the years 1993, 1994 and 1995. It makes use of a big concrete dam with a full reservoir level of 487.68 m and a top elevation of 495.91 m. It has 6 generating units with a rated capacity of 115 MV per unit.

These are just a handful of the hydro power and hydro electricity projects spread across the country.

Author Bio-

Nandan Sharma is a multiple use machine tools manufacturer like vertical turning centers and a small business owner. Passionate about the cause of renewable energy and environment friendly practices, he often writes about the same. On his off days you will find him trekking at various spots in the country.