Tata Power to increase hydro-electric production in five years

Tata Power, India’s largest integrated power company, plans to increase its hydropower generation in the next five years.

The company’s overall power generation capacity is now at 8,684 mw, and targets hiking this to 26,000 mw by 2020.

Currently, Tata Power has an installed hydro capacity of 576 MW in Maharashtra. In addition, it has bagged the 240 MW Dugar hydroelectric project in Chenab Valley in Himachal Pradesh in collaboration with Norway-based SN Power. It recently commissioned the first unit of the 126-megawatt Dagachhu Hydro Power Corp in Bhutan, has a total hydro-generation capacity of 513 mw.

Speaking on the plans, Tata Power managing director Anil Sardana said India’s north-east region’s potential as a source of renewable energy is largely untapped. He further elaborated that Tata Power has a dedicated team that looks for opportunities in renewable energy projects and clean technology development.

Sardana said, “While India is endowed with significant hydroelectric potential, and ranks fifth in the world in terms of usable potential, the share of hydro projects in India’s power basket has dropped from 40 percent in the 1970s to below 20 percent today.” He attributed the fall to poor investment in the sector due to challenges and risks.