Pico Hydro in Southern India's State of Karnataka

Karnataka’s hydropower resources are based on West Flowing River System with seven major hydrological basins, i.e. Godhavari basin, Krishna Basin, Cauvery Basin, North Mennar, South Pennar, Palar Basin and West Flowing.  Krishna river system covers up to 60% of drainage area amongst all river systems, while Krishna, Cauvery and West Flowing collectively account for around 80% of total drainage area in Karnataka. Most of the hydropower infrastructure is based on Krishna basin. With an overall hydro potential of 7750 MW, wherein small and mini hydro potential of 3000 MW has been endorsed by Karnataka’s State Nodal Agency (KREDL) of which KREDL only lists 699.658 MW of small hydro developed. This developed capacity gives no information on “Pico- scale Hydropower” and includes any plant (in range of MWs) having capacity up to 25 MW. Therefore there is no clear status information of pico-hydro, i.e. up-to 10 KW. Small hydropower (SHP) in Karnataka is governed by Renewable Energy Policy 2009-14, according to which the state aims on developing 600 MW with a cumulative capacity of 1016 MW by 2014.    

Several initiatives such as Indo-Norwegian Environment Programme (INEP) and Small Scale Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (S3IDF) have played roles of pilot projects development and filling the financing gap to help showcase installation of pico-systems. However barriers prevail in accelerating its deployment. Such pico-systems are generally installed in very remote areas, for example in the hilly regions of Malnad (Chikmagalur, Hassan and Kodagu) and coastal areas of Udupi, Dakshin Kannada, where the terrain conditions either make electricity supply inaccessible or unreliable. However these sites provide ideal sites for pico-systems mainly for household usage.  Pico-systems entirely rely on the “Watermills Scheme” as a means to financing the pico-hydro plant using a subsidy release of INR 1,10,000 for any plant up-to 5 KW. While subsidy acts as an enabler, it also acts an impediment wherein the plant owners are not willing to go ahead with installing a pico-system without subsidy. Pico-scale hydropower has little mention in the policy and no specific regulatory support is available. The thought process of grid connectivity and regulatory support for such systems is missing, inspite of its large potential, alleviating poverty and ability to lead a higher Human Development Index; the importance of pico-scale hydro systems is undervalued at the policy making level. Pico-systems restricts the broad discussion of small scale hydropower, for ex. ~50 KW of total SHP capacity could be connected to distribution network, as and when the network arrives in the region. In the case of solar, rooftop PV plants are being connected to the grid which is not the case in hydro systems mainly because it is understood that these systems are in areas where grid is not available. However, policy and regulatory support is must for its acceptance at larger level. Grid-interconnection can also be one way to reduce on subsidy dependence. Like solar, pico-hydro does not have any mention of Channel Partners.   

 Source: ISRO (Gateway to Indian Earth Observation) 

With the Karnataka Government’s ban on SHP projects in forest areas of Western Ghats, the only scope of utilizing the hydro potential is to develop pico-scale systems. This ban does not include projects in the range of KWs. Pico-hydro developers such as Prakruti Hydro have installed more than 500 units of 1-2 KW capacity in the State. Others in the industry include Nisarga Environment Technologies which has installed 300 (1 KW) systems in Western Ghats and Mr. G. K. Ratnakar have set up 21 systems of 1-2 KW capacity.  However the complete understanding of pico systems deployment is Western Ghats and Karnataka in particular is largely a secluded field of study with little intervention of government support, due to which there is a not a very big manufacturing market of pico-hydro systems.