If HPP cost is higher than a thermal power plant, is a micro HPP justified?
Yes, slightly. But remember that HPP cost is the first capital cost only. There is no fuel cost. Also, an HPP is green. No CO2, SO2 and all that. There is neither waste nor solid liquid. No ash disposal. Also, there is no such thing as power transmission for long distances. What about the machine’s availability for a micro HPP? Yes. They are available in India and abroad. Machine is not a constraint. What do you need for a micro HPP? Nothing much, really. Wherever you have a water head, as small as 2 m and a perennial flow that is a potential site for a micro HPP. So the flowing streams are a potential source. Even the tailrace waters of a big HPP, the irrigation outlets from the dam storage, etc are a good source for power. What we need is a concept and action. Then why don’t we see many micro HPP? There are many micro HPPs in the Himalayan region. We do not see many elsewhere, especially in Maharashtra, because the rivers are not perennial there. The Himalayan rivers and water flows
