Harnessing Hydropower

JSW Energy is betting big on India’s rivers as experts see hydropower as a key contributor to the country’s renewable energy target.

- Prerna Lidhoo

A MID METICULOUSLY pruned maple trees on one side and rows of red and yellow roses on the other, the constant clanking of turbines shatters the silence of the hills. The turbines on the basin of the Sutlej flowing from China are part of India’s largest private sector hydro power producer JSW Energy’s Baspa and Wangtoo plants in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district.

Private sector companies are generally wary of investing in hydro power because it is considered a highly capital-intensive resource. Many projects suffer cost overruns, delays due to geological and clearance problems, and land acquisition issues. But JSW Energy believes there is significant growth opportunity in the sector in light of India’s push for renewable energy. The company entered the hydel sector in 2015 by acquiring the Baspa (300 MW) and Karcham Wangtoo (1,080 MW) projects from debt-ridden Jaiprakash Power Ventures, a Jaypee Group subsidiary, for 9,700 crore. JSW Energy had tried to enter the space eight years ago by building a 240 MW plant at Kuther in Himachal Pradesh, but the project could not take off over policy issues and for want of a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). It is looking at reviving this project besides looking at other stressed hydro assets.

“Hydro is something we are looking at in the longer run,” says Sharad Mahendra, chief operating officer, energy business, JSW Energy. “Average production has gone up after the takeover. We did luck out in terms of the takeover as these are good assets. The HP (Himachal Pradesh) government has come out with a hydro policy which makes the project viable as it’s favouring us.”