Major Hydro Power Plants in India

Hydro power is considered as one of the most economic and non polluting sources of energy. Power generated from water is termed as Hydroelectricity. Hydro electricity means electricity generated by hydropower or from the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. One of the most common forms of power generation since this form of energy neither produces any direct waste matter nor is subjected to exhaustion.

The potential for hydro-electric potential in terms of installed capacity in India is estimated to be about 148,700 MW out of which a capacity of 30,164 MW (20.3%) has been developed so far and 13,616 MW (9.2 %) of capacity is under construction.

Below is a list of the Major Hydro Power Plants in India

Name	Location	Operator	Configuration	Important Facts
Babail	Uttar Pradesh	Uttar Pradesh Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd	2 X 1.5 MW tube	The Babail minihydel project was approved in Sep 1986 and was awarded to PGM in Sep 1988 as a Rs 6.22cr turnkey project.
Bhandardara-1	Maharashtra	Dodson-Lindblom Hydro Power Pvt Ltd	1 X 14.4 MW Francis	This plant was acquired in 1996 from Maharashtra Water Resources Dept and overhauled in 1997/98 with assistance from AHEC.
Belka	Uttar Pradesh	Uttar Pradesh Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd	2 X 1.5 MW tube	The Belka and Babail minihydel projects were approved in Sep 1986 and Belka was awarded to FCC and PGM in Jul 1988 as a total Rs 5.66cr project. Construction on Belka did not start until Dec 1996 after delays in securing forest clearance and land acquisition.
Chenani-1	Jammu & Kashmir	Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Corp	5 X 4.66 MW Pelton	The Chenani I&II projects in Udhampur district were inaugurated in 1971 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. They were closed on 25 Feb 2005 following a landslide that damaged a 700m diversion tunnel. Repairs were completed at a cost of Rs 8cr and the plants put back in service in Jun 2008.
Bhatgar	Maharashtra	Maharashtra State Power Generation Co Ltd	1 X 16 MW Kaplan	The dam was part of the world's largest irrigation project, known as Lloyd Barrage. This was a multipurpose scheme which was initiated in 1923 by Sir George Ambrose Lloyd, then Governor of Bombay. The project was opened in Jan 1932.
Indira Sagar	Madhya Pradesh	Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corp Ltd	8 X 125 MW Francis	NHDC is a joint venture of NHPC and the MP government set up on 1 Aug 2000.
Little Ranjit	West Bengal	West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd	2 X 1 MW Pelton	Operations commenced in1970
Jammu Canal	Jammu & Kashmir	Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Corp	2 X 500 kW Francis	This power station has been out of service since 1995
Matatila	Uttar Pradesh	Uttar Pradesh Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd	3 X 10 MW Kaplan	This dam was built between 1952 and 1964 on the Betwa River in the Ganga Basin.
Salal	Jammu & Kashmir	National Hydro Power Corp Ltd	6 X 115 MW Kaplan	Built on the Chenab River this power station has a 118m high, 630m long rockfill dam and a 113m high, 450m long concrete dam plus an 11m, 2,46km tailrace tunnel. The reservoir is 33km long. Project development started in 1970.
Omkareshwar	Madhya Pradesh	Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corp Ltd	8 X 65 MW Francis	This 949m long concrete gravity dam reaches a maximum height of 53m. The Annual production is expected to be 1.1 TWh.
Samal	Orissa	Orissa Power Consortium Ltd	5 X 4 MW S-Turbine	OPCL is a power company promoted by VBC Ferro Alloys Ltd. Samal uses releases from Samal Barrage reservoir on the Brahmani River.

Last Updated on : 26 October 2010