Arunachal Pradesh is expected to finalise several agreements to establish 13 GW of new hydropower projects at an investment of more than Rs 1.5 trillion next week, which will significantly strengthen India’s commitment to promote non-fossil energy.

According to reports, Union power minister RK Singh will travel to Itanagar to start the process of releasing the state’s hydropower potential, which would include signing 13 Memorandums of Understanding for 13 GW hydropower projects. 

The state presently only has 1,100 MW of installed hydroelectric capacity despite having 41 per cent of India’s total hydropower potential. Additionally, there are two projects being built that have a 4,880 MW total capacity.

The long-delayed Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project, on which construction started in mid-2000, is expected to finish its first four 1,000 MW (4 x 250 MW) units this fiscal year, the official added.

The 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower project is owned by the government-run hydroelectric power company NHPC. At a cost of roughly Rs 35,000 crore, the second project, the 2,880 MW Dibang hydropower project, is also being built by NHPC.

The 600 MW Kameng hydropower facility in Arunachal Pradesh, the largest project to be completed in the area and with the potential to produce 3,353 million units of energy annually, was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November.

In the Upper Siang district, the northeastern state is also engaged in a very ambitious hydropower project. According to the official, this 10 GW project, that is still in the design stages, will be the greatest hydroelectric project in the nation.

The Upper Siang project, which is expected to cost approximately Rs 1.45 trillion, is also viewed as a buffer against any man-made floods that China might cause in Medog, Tibet, where it is planning a 60,000 MW hydroelectric plant.

In their meeting next week, power minister Singh and Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu will discuss both the 13 GW of new hydropower projects as well as the 10 GW Upper Siang project.

With the exception of the Upper Siang project, Arunachal will add a total of 17,880 MW of hydropower, or 38% of India’s present hydropower capacity, thanks to the projects now under development and the 13 MoU that are likely to be signed next week.