Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project

23.07.2024

Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project

Why in the news?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) is set to invest approximately ₹290 crore in the Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project.

About Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project:

• It is a 900 MW run-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 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 Brahma Ghat in India.
• Together, they form the Ghaghara River, a major left bank tributary of the Ganges.

                                                            Source: The Times of India

Ques :- Consider the following statements regarding the Upper Karnali Hydro-Electric Power Project:

Statement-I

 It is a run-of-the-river hydropower project being developed on the Karnali River in Nepal.

Statement-II

 The project will supply power to Nepal, India and Bangladesh.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

A.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

B.Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I.

C.Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect.

D.Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct.

Answer A