MARCH 202319India approved its largest ever hydropower project in the mountainous northeastern region bordering China as the country seeks to build renewable generation to meet rising power demand. The state-run hydropower producer NHPC said, "The government approved the estimated investment of Rs.319 billion ($3.9 billion) for the 2,880-megawatt Dibang project in Arunachal Pradesh". The project is estimated to take nine years to build. India has classified hydropower as renewable energy and sees it as key in its transition away from coal to help manage the fluctuations caused by intermittent solar and wind supplies. However, the large-scale environmental damage and dislocation of communities to construct dams has hampered those plans, with local protests delaying projects and adding to construction costs. Dibang, which will be built over more than 5,000 hectares (12,360 acres) of forest land, faces similar risks, according to Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator for nonprofit South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. The company's nine-year timeline is optimistic when accounting for potential delays because of local protests and geological difficulties, he said."The cost is going to be much higher and benefits much lower", Thakkar said. "There's really no viability for such projects". The approved investment includes Rs.67.2 billion of government support for flood moderation and enabling infrastructure, such as roads and bridges connecting the construction site. Several other projects in the Himalayan region are running years behind their original schedule, with some blamed for loosening the earth and forcing local evacuations. "The Himalayan region is such a disaster-prone area and every such project is going to act as a force-multiplier for potential disasters", Thakkar said. A power purchase agreement (PPA) for 6.42 megawatts (MW) of wind-solar generation capacity in Karnataka was announced by JK Cement and CleanMax, a C&I renewable energy company. The PPA is for 25 years and has a price that is 50 percent cheaper than the standard discom tariff, according to the official press release. CleanMax's wind-solar farm in Jagalur, Karnataka, will supply green energy to JK Cement's Muddapur mill there. "This wind-solar capacity consists of 3.3 MW of wind energy and 4.68 MW of solar energy. This is a small portion of a larger wind-and-solar farm that CleanMax has built in Karnataka. The farm's total installed capacity is 290 MW, made up of 145 MW of wind and 210 MWp of solar, resulting in a reduction in carbon emissions of 61,18,92 tonnes CO2 equivalent.Raghavpat Singhania, managing director of JK Cement, the company has raised its proportion of green energy from 19 to 43 percent during the past three years. He continued by saying that the long-term agreement with CleanMax is for their Muddapur facility, which has already achieved a renewable energy mix of over 85 percent. INDIA APPROVES $3.9 BILLION HYDROPOWER PROJECT NEAR CHINA BORDERJK CEMENT WILL ACQUIRE 6 MW OF WIND & SOLAR POWER FROM CLEANMAXNEWS
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