Climate change will increase hydropower generation in India

Subject: Environment

Section : Climate change

Context:

A two-member team from IIT Gandhinagar studied the hydroclimatic changes in the catchment areas and their implications for hydropower generation in 46 major dams located in north, central and south India.

Details:

The team looked at the increase in rainfall in the catchment areas and the resultant inflow into all 46 major reservoirs and found that they are characterised by high radiative forcing by the end of the 21st century.

Projected increase:

Under a warmer climate, the hydropower production will increase across the country due to a substantial increase in precipitation leading to increased inflow to the reservoirs.
The projected increase in hydropower potential in India is 10-23%.

Affected regions:

Compared with central and south India, north India is projected to experience higher warming in the future.
- As per the study, the highest warming (about 5 degree C) is projected for north India, while the warming is projected to be around 3-4 degree C for central and south India.
- The study found that inflow to a few dams in Ganga, Mahanadi, Brahmani, and west-coast river basins is projected to decline in the future. This reduction in inflow is due to increase in atmospheric water demands in response to the considerable warming compared to increase in precipitation.
The potential hydropower generation is projected to rise by more than 50% in Tehri, Ramganga, Kadana, Omkareshwar, Maheshwar, and Sriramsagar dams.
In the case of south India, eight out of eleven dams are projected to experience a decline in hydropower potential.
Dams in central India are projected to experience a more substantial increase in hydropower generation than north and central India.

Reasons include:

Global warming led the rise in extreme inflow and high reservoir storage conditions.
Increased precipitation and increased rate of glacier melting.

Significance of hydropower for India:

Unlike coal-powered power plants, hydropower, which is the second highest power-producing source at 13%, is a significant contributor to clean global electricity generation.
Hydropower generation will play a crucial role in achieving the target of Net-zero by 2070, and goals under the Global diversity framework.
Hydropower generation is crucial to carbon emission reduction in India.
HPP is crucial for the ‘phase down’ of thermal power plants.