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New Energy World
New Energy World embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low carbon technologies.
The promise of small hydro power in India
12/7/2023
6 min read
Small hydro power and decentralised renewable energy could have enormous potential in remote areas of India, such as the Himalayas and north-east, writes Jitendra Bisht, a PhD student in Environmental History at the Georgetown University in Washington DC.
With a quantum leap in household electrification in India in recent years, energy policy discussion has shifted towards questions of security of supply and access to clean energy. These issues are particularly relevant in the context of remote geographies, where energy penetration involves high capital and operational expense.
In the Himalayas and the north-east of the country, energy production is linked with concerns around environmental degradation and climate change, given the dependence on large hydropower projects in these regions. Increasingly erratic rainfall and the fluctuation in reservoir levels are affecting the regions’ power generation and supply.
Concepts like decentralised renewable energy (DRE) systems and community-level energy management are increasingly the focus of energy policy strategy. DRE systems offer significant potential for increased equitable and sustainable access to energy, particularly in remote areas. Such systems not only reduce people’s reliance on conventional fuels like firewood and diesel, but can also provide surplus energy to augment existing grid capacity.