Hydro power firm NHPC Ltd has signed a pact with JSC RusHydro, Russia's largest generating firm, for cooperation in building hydro power projects in India and other countries.
RusHydro has expertise in building large hydro projects, including the 6,400-MW Sayano-Shushenskaya hydro station, Russia's largest hydroelectric plant. As on April 1, the Russian Federation owned 58 per cent of RusHydro's authorised capital. RusHydro has an installed capacity of 26,100 MW.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two firms on Monday sets the stage for technical cooperation on a “case-to-case basis” on pre-specified projects, including those bagged by NHPC outside India.
NHPC Ltd is already working with the Myanmar Government for the development of two hydel power projects – the 1,200-MW Tamanthi project and the 600-MW Shwzaye project in Myanmar – on the Chindwin river basin. The State-owned hydro firm also has agreements in place for preparing the detailed project reports for the 670 MW Chamkharchhu-I and 1,800 MW Kuri-Gongri Hydroelectric Projects in Bhutan.
NHPC currently has 14 operational hydro projects totalling a capacity of 5,295 MW. It also has ten projects under construction that add up to another 4,502 MW.