SJVN Ltd is expected to soon sign MoUs for five hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh, the development rights of which have been given to the Central PSU.
The Arunachal Pradesh, it may be recalled, has accepted the allotment of five hydropower projects with aggregate capacity of over 5,000 mw, to SJVN Ltd. All these projects were allotted to SJVN, following the Central government’s proposal of allotting all projects in one river basin to a single developer. The rationale behind this was to optimize utilization of manpower, financial resources and infrastructure. The philosophy is informally referred to “Integrated River Basin Development Approach”.
The five projects allotted to SJVN are:
- Etalin (3097 mw)
- Attunli (680 mw)
- Emini (500 mw)
- Amulin (420 mw)
- Mihumdon (400 mw)
The aggregate investment in these five projects is to the tune of Rs.60,000 crore, and the project shelf is likely to be completed over the next 8-10 years. The cumulative generation of these projects is an estimated 20,000 million kwh per year. It is learnt that even the detailed project reports (DPR) for some of these five projects is ready, while the others are in the survey and investigation (S&I) state.
25 GW by 2040
SJVN has set a target of achieving 25 GW of installed power generation capacity of 25 GW by 2040, moving from 12 GW by 2030 and 5 GW by 2023. Currently, the Central PSU has 41 projects under various stages of implementation (including installed projects) with overall capacity of over 16 GW. Apart from domestic projects, SJVN is also pursuing hydropower development in Nepal.
Etalin
The 3,097-mw Etalin hydropower project in Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh has had a long saga of delays. This project, and a few others in the same valley, was to be developed by NTPC. However, in 2008, the Arunachal Pradesh government scrapped the mandate over alleged non-payment of upfront fees. Private sector developers and SJVN, then, had expressed interest in developing the projects.
Also read: SJVN And DVC Join Hands For Harnessing Renewable Energy
Highest potential
Northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh has the maximum hydropower potential in the country. Out of the country’s total potential of 1,45,320 mw, Arunachal alone accounts for 50,064 mw or 34 per cent. However, the hydropower potential of Arunachal is vastly untapped. As of November 30, 2021, barely 2.2 per cent of the state’s potential was exploited (in the form of commissioned capacity), while another 4 per cent was under construction. A preponderant 93.8 per cent remained unexploited, as of given date.
(Featured photograph for illustration only)
