Al powers hydro operations, leading to efficiency and RE integration

Hydro power follows the load in the grid, unlike solar and wind power sources, and provides the inertia to withstand the grid fluctuations. This reason will establish hydro power as a sustainable relevance for an appropriate energy mix and contribute to achieving carbon neutrality by 2070.

- Authored by: Jiban Chandra Kakoti General Manager (Hydro Engineering)- NTPC

India is endowed with a hydro power potential of around 1,45,320 MW from around 592 hydroelectric schemes, out of which approximately 49628.17 MW has been harnessed till now in the form of large hydro projects, which constitute approximately 10 per cent of the total installed capacity. The power mix as of August 2025 is 49 percent from thermal power, 38.3 percent from renewables (solar, wind, and small hydro), 10 percent from large hydro, and 1.8 percent from nuclear power generation out of the total installed capacity, which stands at 502 GW.

According to the World Resources Institute Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (WRI CAIT), India's GHG profile in 2014 was dominated by emissions from the energy sector, which accounted for 68.7 percent of total emissions. Within the energy sector, 49 percent of emissions were due to electricity and heat generation. Hence, India is on a mission to reduce GHG emissions by increasing the generation from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, and hydro, which have now been declared renewable.

The country has set ambitious clean energy goals, targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel installed capacity by 2030, with 50 percent of generation capacity coming from renewables (including hydro), and to reach net-zero emissions by 2070. By 2032, the installed capacity of the country would reach around 900 GW, out of which a large hydro share with an installed capacity of 62 GW will be 7 percent. However, in order to complement the huge addition of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) sources (solar and wind), Pumped Storage Hydro Projects would be required to the tune of 27 GW as per the NEP (2022-2032), which is about 3 percent. Hence, hydro mix by 2030 would be standing at 10 percent and solar at 40 percent, and wind at 13 percent. Thermal generation would be limited to around 32 percent.