Hydropower policy to be placed for Cabinet approval

Union Power Minister R K Singh on Thursday said preparation of a hydropower policy is in its final stage and it will be sent to the Cabinet for an approval soon.

The policy is aimed at accelerating renewable energy production in the country, Singh said at an event here.

The minister also assured industry representatives that he would look into their demands for restructuring debt over stranded hydro projects as well as their refinancing by the Power Finance Corporation and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA).

As per the draft, it will aim to provide Rs 16,709 crore support for 40 stalled hydel projects with 11,639 MW capacity and to classify all such ventures as renewable energy.

The two main features of the proposed policy granting renewable energy status to all hydro power projects regardless of its size and to provide Rs 16,709 crore support to revive stalled 40 hydel projects.

At present, small hydro projects of up to 25 MW capacity are considered as renewable energy and such projects are eligible for various incentives by the government in terms of taxation, duties and also cheaper credit. Projects beyond this capacity are not in this category and hence not entitled to the benefits.

The granting of renewable energy status to all hydro projects regardless of its size, would enable India to achieve clean power capacity of 225 GW by 2022, said a official in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.