Hydro-power, a sustainable, clean and green alternative: Standing Committee on Energy (2015-16)
Standing Committee on Energy present this Fifteenth Report on ‘Hydropower, a sustainable, clean and green alternative’ relating to the Ministry of Power. Hydro power is clean, green, sustainable and also a cheap source of power in the long run. Amongst the renewable sources of energy, hydro power has been recognized as the most preferred source of energy due to its inherent benefits. Thermal power generation stations are dependent on fossil fuels, which are limited and may not last long, whereas hydro power is a renewable source of energy. Inadequate availability of coal is already causing lot of concerns while non-availability of gas has already caused thousands of MW capacity equivalents of power stations to be non-operational, at least at present. While hydro power has a long gestiation period and needs huge upfront capital cost, it is a much longer life and is free from fuel cost which significantly makes it cheaper in the long run. The Bhakra Nangal Plant, which is about 40 years old, has an operating cost of meager 10 paisa per unit. Moreover, hydro power stations, unlike conventional thermal power stations, do not emit pollutants in to the environment.