Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project

About Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project:

• It is a 900 MWrun-of-the-river hydropower project being developed on the Karnali River in Nepal.
• The project will supply power to Nepal, India, and Bangladesh for a contracted period of 25 years.
• The Government of Nepal awarded the project to GMR Upper Karnali Hydro Power Limited (GUKHL), a subsidiary of GMR Group India, under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in January 2008.
• GMR is developing the project on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.
• The Nepal Government received 27% free equity in the project as part of the MoU with GMR.
• It is estimated to generate 3,466 million units of electricity, while offsetting approximately two million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
• It will feature a concrete gravity dam, headrace tunnels, a fish pass, feeder tunnels, surge and pressure shafts, and silt flushing tunnels.

Key Facts about Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA):

• It is a Mini Ratna (Category I) Government of India Enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• IREDA is a public limited government company established as a non-banking financial institution in 1987.
• It is engaged in promoting, developing and extending financial assistance for setting up projects relating to new and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency/conservation.
• Motto: “ENERGY FOR EVER”

Key Facts about Karnali River:

• It is a perennial trans-boundary river originating in the Himalaya Mountains on the Nepal side of the Tibet border across from holy Mt. Kailash. 
• It is the longest and largest river in Nepal, at 315 miles. More than 90% of the basin lies in Nepal.
• It cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India.
• Together, they form the Ghaghara River, a major left bank tributary of the Ganges.

Q1: What is a gravity dam?

A gravity dam is a type of dam structure that is primarily designed to resist the force of gravity and hold back water or other materials. It relies on its own weight and mass to counteract the horizontal pressure exerted by the water or other materials it is retaining. Gravity dams are among the oldest and most common types of dams used for various purposes, including water supply, irrigation, flood control, and hydroelectric power generation.

Source: IREDA to invest ₹290 crore in Nepal’s 900 MW hydroelectric project