A number of hydropower projects across the Central, State and private sectors, with a cumulative capacity of over 13,000 MW, are witnessing significant time and cost overruns, according to consultancy firm PwC.
The consultancy says while India has untapped potential of over 100GW, till date only 3.2 GW has been installed by the private sector.
A PwC-ASSOCHAM report titled ‘Accelerating Hydropower Development in India for Sustainable Energy Security’ pins the slow pace to factors such as complex clearance and approval procedures, land acquisition issues, insufficient market depth and scope, limited availability of long term financing, and existing models for sharing of hydro benefits.
Though private participation in the hydropower sector has gained momentum in the recent past, it still faces many impediments across various stages of a project development lifecycle, it adds.