Underground power house to house six turbines of 79 MW each
NHPC Limited and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in New Delhi on 1 Jun 2023 for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal.
The project will use the flow from the Karnali River for power generation, electricity from which will be fed into integrated power system of Nepal.
The installed capacity of the project will be 480 MW with average annual generation of about 2448 GWh.
The key features of the project are a 109-metre high RCC dam and an underground power house where the six turbines of 79 MW each will be housed.
Additionally, to utilize minimum environmental release one Surface Power House of 6 MW capacity i.e. two machines of 3 MW each is also planned. This project is conceived as a Peaking Run-of-River (PRoR) type scheme.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
NHPC Limited, a Schedule ‘A’ Enterprise of the Government of India with ‘MINI RATNA’ status, is a premier PSU in India for development of hydropower and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal is responsible to develop, build, own and operate large-scale hydropower projects in public-private partnership model in Nepal.
The MOU was exchanged by R.K. Vishnoi, Chairman & Managing Director, NHPC and Surya Prasad Rijal, Managing Director, VUCL. Signing of this MOU is a landmark step towards India-Nepal Joint Vision on Power Sector Cooperation. Fiinews.com
