Guwahati: The Senior Engineers’ Forum, NE Region organized a seminar on “Roadmap for Sustainable Development of Green Energy in Northeast India with Special Reference to Hydroelectricity” on September 30, at the Institution of Engineers in Guwahati.
Assam Power Minister Nandita Gorlosa emphasized the importance of developing sustainable green energy for energy transition. She gave a detailed overview of the solar and small hydro projects coming up in Assam.
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Prof Arup Kumar Misra, Chairman of the Assam Pollution Control Board, gave a keynote address on the green energy scenario in Assam in particular and the Northeast region in general.
He highlighted the great potential of Assam for solar and wind energy, and the possibility of using Brahmaputra char and hill areas for wind energy generation.
He also mentioned the advances in solar technology that now allow for solar power generation even on rainy days.
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Assam has a solar power potential of 13700 MW, he said, and only non-cultivable land and rooftops should be used for solar plants.
Er. Santosh Kumar, Group General Manager of NHPC, spoke on the necessity of hydroelectricity projects in the Northeast region.
He acknowledged the challenges of land acquisition and forest diversion, but emphasized that the environmental impact of hydroelectricity projects is negligible compared to the ecological gains of reducing carbon emissions.
“Modern dams are built with innovative design and technology to higher safety standards than those in the past,” he said.
Er. Pankaj Kumar Goswami, Director Operation of OIL, spoke on hydrogen energy, solar energy, and other green energy projects in Assam where Oil India Ltd is involved.
President of the Forum Er. Subha Brata Sarmah gave a welcome address in which he stressed the importance of green energy development in the Northeast region to cater to the electricity requirements of the states.
Advocating for solar and small hydro projects, he also emphasized the need to develop large hydro projects with minimum environmental impacts, including flood control in downstream areas.
A souvenir with 16 technical papers on the subjects was also released. NHPC presented papers on Himalayan geology, seismicity, continuous monitoring of seismic events in all its running and under construction projects, installation of flood forecasting and early warning systems, and continuous monitoring in the Master Control Room installed in NHPC Corporate office in Faridabad.
The seminar was attended by a large number of engineers, faculties, and students of engineering colleges, including the Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) and Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Management & Technology (GIMT).
Recommendations for a roadmap for green energy development in the Northeast :
- Despite the challenges of land acquisition, weather dependency, low solar insolation, and reliability, all NE states should develop maximum solar potential, including rooftop and floating plants with the latest technology, to cater to the green energy needs of the states.
- Techno-economically feasible small hydro projects should be given priority to cater to the electricity needed in remote areas.
- As the large hydropower potential in Arunachal Pradesh is being tapped by the Central Sector through PSUs like NHPC, NEEPCO, SJVN, THDC, etc., the NE states should get the priority in power allotment. The safety of downstream people must be carefully considered along with all environmental impacts in implementing these projects.
- The 1000 MW power allotted to the Northern and Western States from the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project, Arunachal Pradesh/Assam, to be commissioned next year, should be reallocated to relieve the power-starved NE states, particularly Assam, where power deficit is exponentially increasing.