Hydropower projects worth over Rs 70,000 crore at risk due to extreme weather in Uttarakhand: Report
The assessment was based on a case study of the 2021 flash floods in Chamoli district, which destroyed the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydroelectric facility.
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Extreme weather events in Uttarakhand could potentially destroy or seriously delay hydroelectric power plants worth Rs 70,150 crore, suggests a report released on Wednesday by the think tank Climate Risk Horizons.
The report, Assessing the Vulnerability of Hydroelectric Power Plants in Uttarakhand, notes that the state is highly susceptible to extreme weather events including flash floods, landslides, glacial lake outbursts and drought.
There are 18 operational hydroelectric power plants in the state with many more in development, the report added. Extreme weather events could damage infrastructure, leading to project delays and significant cost escalations.
The report was based on a case study of the 2021 flash floods in Chamoli district, which destroyed the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project. “The initial project cost of Rs 2,978 crore has more than doubled due to the flash floods,” the report observed.
The authors identified eight major river basins and assigned them ratings from high to low risk based on the population density of nearby settlements, nearby glacial discharge patterns and damage assessment of past flash floods.
The report suggests that the Joshimath-Srinagar basin is the most vulnerable to natural disasters, followed by the Tehri-Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh-Bageshwar basins. There are 15 hydropower projects currently in development across these three basins worth Rs 70,150 crore.
“Climate-related disasters pose significant financial risks to infrastructure projects in...
