India says it plans to spend $1 billion to expedite the construction of 12 hydropower stations in the northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh. Government sources have told Reuters that that move that could raise tensions with China, which lays claims to the region. The federal finance ministry under Nirmala Sitharaman recently approved up to $89.85 million in financial assistance to each hydropower project in the northeastern region.
Under the scheme, a large section of the money will likely be allotted for the 12 hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh. The scheme is likely to support northeastern states and help them finance equity holdings in the projects they host. Having state governments on board generally helps in expediting regulatory clearances, locals rehabilitation and negotiations on sharing electricity with the host state.
None of the companies responded to a request by Reuters for comment. These power plants were earlier enlisted with private sector firms but remained non-starters due to various reasons. India has built less than 15-gigawatt hydropower plants in the past 20 years, while installations of new coal and other renewable sources of energy were nearly 10 times of the new hydropower projects.
More than 62% of India’s electricity demand is met through the country’s vast coal reserves. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and several other state power generating companies are engaged in operating coal-based thermal power plants.
Apart from NTPC and other operators, some private companies also operate the power plants. One coal plant was given environmental clearance in 2021. Although new plants are unlikely to be built, if more coal is burnt in existing plants it will increase greenhouse gas emissions by India rather significantly.
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