New Delhi, March 18 The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a small hydropower development scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,585 crore to boost the development of 1,500 MW of renewable energy capacity.
"The Cabinet-approved small hydropower development scheme with an outlay of Rs 2,585 crore," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after the Union Cabinet meeting here.
The minister stated that this is an important decision from an environmental perspective for the country. The projects will be developed as run-of-river projects without constructing dams and displacing people.
Vaishnaw said that there is potential for small hydro projects at 7,133 sites with a total capacity of 21,000 MW in the country. Currently, 5,100 MW of small hydropower projects are operational at 1,196 sites in the country.
The capacity of these projects ranges from 1 MW to 25 MW each. The projects will be implemented for five years until 2030-31.
The scheme is expected to attract an investment of Rs 15,000 crore in small hydropower projects.
