Sharavati valley project: Meeting growing power demand vs. keeping forests pristine Premium

Sharavati river, a source of electricity in Karnataka, faces environmental opposition for a proposed pumped storage project.

The Sharavati river that takes birth at Ambutirtha in Tirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district flows for about 130 km through some of the most scenic and ecologically diverse regions of Karnataka in the Western Ghats before reaching the Arabian Sea. It has also been a major source of electricity production in Karnataka. The river water keeps the power-generating stations — Sharavathy Generating Station (1,035 MW), Mahatma Gandhi Hydroelectric Station (139.2 MW), Linganamakki Dam Power House (55 MW), and Gerusoppa Dam Power House (240 MW) — active. For decades, these stations have been contributing millions of units of power to Karnataka at a relatively lower cost than thermal power units. Over the decades, projects along this river have often been a bone of contention between environmentalists and the governments in power.

Now, Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) has proposed exploiting the pumped storage power potential of the Sharavati valley. The project has been planned utilising the two existing reservoirs in the valley to generate another 2,000 MW.

However, with the project site falling within the pristine forests of the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, the KPCL has attracted the wrath of environmentalists. Many people in both Shivamogga and the neighbouring Uttara Kannada district have raised serious concerns about the damage the project could cause to the rich flora and fauna and warned the KPCL of protests if it went ahead with the project. Representatives of gram panchayats have resolved to intensify their protests against the project.

On the other hand, KPCL officers say the project’s impact on the forest will be “minimal” and the agency will take care not to disturb animals, including lion-tailed macaque, a primate whose single largest population is found in the region. The project implementing agency says that as a major part of the construction will take place underground, the damage caused to the forest cover will be minimal.

Recently, the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife gave conditional approval for the project. It asked the KPCL to reduce the number of trees to be cut by 50%. The agency has to devise strategies to minimise the damage and get approval. However, the agency is yet to get clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) and the National Board for Wildlife.

The demand for power has been growing. With the decision to supply power to irrigation pump sets during the daytime, the demand peaks around 11 a.m. At present, the peak demand is around17,500 MW and it is expected to increase gradually. According to the resource adequacy plan for Karnataka, the compound annual growth rate between 2023 and 2031 will be 3.93%. As per the demand projection of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL), by 2031-32, the State will require 1,20,778 million units, and the peak demand will touch 23,058 MW.

Considering the constant increase in demand, the Karnataka government has to strengthen its grid. Meanwhile, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which works under the Union Ministry of Energy, assessed the on-river pumped storage hydroelectric potential in India in 2023. Chairperson of the CEA, Ghanshyam Prasad, in his foreword to the study, says, “India is on the path toward clean energy transition, with an aim to produce 50% capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.” The CEA has planned to generate 500 GW of power from renewable sources by 2030. As per the potential study, two projects — Sharavati Pumped Storage Project (PSP) and Varahi PSP (1,500 MW) — were listed from Karnataka. All the 11 other similar projects listed by the State government are not feasible at present.