State-run hydro power company, NHPC Ltd is under discussions with the Bhutan government to form a joint venture company to undertake hydro power projects in the country, a senior executive of the company told FE.
The move comes amid the company’s plan to expand its business overseas. “We are in discussion with the Bhutan government to explore the possibility of forming a joint venture company for development of hydro projects in Bhutan,” the source said.
Additionally, the company is also exploring opportunities for setting up hydro power plants in African countries given the huge potential of such projects in the region.
“There are opportunities in African countries for hydro power projects. The Ministry of External Affairs at different points of time have called hydro developers and asked to explore the possibility of developing hydro projects in African countries because there is a lot of potential there,” said the executive. “But it is all under discussion, nothing has been finalized.”
Apart from this, the company already has an active presence in Nepal with three hydro projects – 624 MW Phukot Karnali project underway, 480 MW Seti River 6 project, and 800 MW West Seti project underway. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the three projects are under preparation and after the approval of the same, the company will start with the clearance processes and construction of the projects.
“We expect 1-2 years will take for approval of other statutory clearances for the Phukot Karnali project and subsequently these projects can be taken up for construction. Power generated from the project will come to India,” said the source.
Other than expanding in the hydro power sector, the company is also diversifying into other renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and green hydrogen. The company has taken initiatives for development of green hydrogen technology, wherein one 25 kWe capacity pilot green hydrogen project at Leh, and two pilot green hydrogen-based e-mobility projects (one at Kargil, and another at Chamba, Himachal Pradesh) are under implementation.
By 2032, the company plans to increase its cumulative installed capacity to 23 gigawatt (GW) from the current 7.2 GW. It further plans to increase it to over 50 GW by 2047, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director Raj Kumar Chaudhary had said.
Currently, the company is operating 28 power stations. The company aims to commission the 800 MW Parbati-II HE Project by March 2025 and three units of 250 MW each of the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower HE Project by May 2025. Upon completion, these projects will collectively contribute an additional 6,500 million units in electricity generation in the next financial year.