Private funding for small hydel projects invited

Reviving its preference for hydel systems as sources of sustainable power generation, the State once again is opening up investment opportunities in ‘green' power with the identification of 57 small hydro-electric projects that have a combined capacity to generate nearly 170 MW of power (more than 440 million units a year).


The ‘green power house' is being opened up after a gap of two decades and is a key feature that expects to lure investors through Emerging Kerala 2012.


The schemes that are being opened up for possible private investment now include the Parakkadavu project, on Pampa in Kottayam district with an identified capacity of 10 MW. The largest of the schemes by far is Kakkadampoyil stage II on Chaliyar in Kozhikode district, with an identified capacity for 21 MW. The identified capacities of other schemes vary between 0.30 and 15 MW.



Fourteen of the schemes have their detailed project reports available while detailed investigations have been carried out in the case of 16 other schemes. Preliminary investigations have been carried out in the case of nine schemes and feasibility studies have been conducted in the case of 14 others. The other schemes have just been identified.


Meanwhile, the government has also issued the draft of a new policy to tap small hydel projects to meet a targeted capacity addition of 150 MW by 2015, taking the total power generation from small hydel projects to 285 MW.


According to the draft issued by Energy Management Centre (EMC) Kerala and posted on its website, the state has potential to generate up to 700 MW of power from small units and, at present, it generates 135 MW from these small projects.


The new policy will be applicable to facilities with up to 25 MW of installed capacity and seeks to encourage private investment in tapping renewable sources of energy.


The draft said that renewable energy sources contributed about 272 million units of electricity a year, which accounted for less than two per cent of the total 15,437 million units available annually in the state from various sources.


Energy demand was expected to grow 10 per cent taking the actual consumption to 23,157 million units a year over the next five years, claimed the document, which said that the State government had a policy on small hydel projects since 1992. As a result, 19 small units, generating a total of 133.87 MW of power, have been commissioned till the end of December 2011.


One of the impetuses behind the new draft policy is Kerala Electricity Regulatory Commission's suggestion that Kerala State Electricity Board source at least a portion of its supplies from renewable sources, including small hydel projects.


The Small Hydro Project Cell in EMC will process the applications received from potential developers and monitor the progress of the approved projects.