India is close to starting a mega hydropower project that has been in the works for 20 years, a key step in the country’s energy transition. State-run hydropower company NHPC Ltd. will start trial runs in July for the Subansiri Lower project that runs through the states of Assam and Arunchal Pradesh in the country’s north-east. Opposition to dams has limited the country to tapping barely a third of its hydropower potential of 145 gigawatts.“We need to get nearly 40 approvals from different departments before we start building a hydropower project. As Subansiri approaches conclusion, NHPC is finalizing plans to award construction orders for the 2.9-gigawatt Dibang project, the biggest hydropower plant India has planned to build. The government has also agreed to give budgetary support in some cases on civil construction and flood moderation work.

Source: Economic Times June 17, 2023 21:05 UTC