HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA CASE STUDY Harnessing Hydropower Anthony Hurford, Steven Wade and James Winpenny August 2014 This report has been produced by HR Wallingford for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) Adaptation Knowledge and Tools programme and published through Evidence on Demand. The Adaptation Knowledge and Tools programme is a DFID-funded programme intended to maximise the effectiveness of UK and international investment in climate change adaptation and resilience. The knowledge and tools generated through this programme are expected to promote greater understanding of what constitutes best practice in adaptation, as well as better international cohesion and coordination around adaptation. Through these entry points the programme expects to increase the quality of international and UK adaptation programming and reduce its risk. The views expressed in the report are entirely those of the author and do not necessarily represent DFID’s own views or policies, or those of Evidence on Demand. DFID welcome comments and suggestions, and any feedback on these documents should be sent to the ICF Secretariat ([email protected]). This report has been produced for Evidence on Demand with the assistance of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) contracted through the Climate, Environment, Infrastructure and Livelihoods Professional Evidence and Applied Knowledge Services (CEIL PEAKS) programme, jointly managed by DAI (which incorporates HTSPE Limited) and IMC Worldwide Limited. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12774/eod_cr.august2014.hurfordaetal01 First published August 2014 © CROWN COPYRIGHT 2 Contents Report Summary ........................................................................................................iv SECTION 1 ............................................................................................. 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Hydropower’s role in world energy systems .......................................... 1 1.2 Objectives of the project ....................................................................... 1 1.3 Objectives of the report ......................................................................... 1 1.4 A framework for analysis ....................................................................... 1 1.5 Structure of the report ........................................................................... 2 SECTION 2 ............................................................................................. 4 Case study context ..................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Development status .............................................................................. 4 2.2 Regional context ................................................................................... 4 2.3 Development policy and planning ......................................................... 4 2.4 Water, energy and food security status ................................................ 8 2.5 Hydropower in HP ............................................................................... 10 2.6 Climate change impacts and adaptation .................................................. 13 2.7 Selected case study basin: the Sutlej Basin ....................................... 15 2.8 Section summary ................................................................................ 19 SECTION 3 ........................................................................................... 20 Systematic mapping ................................................................................................. 20 3.1 Systemic interactions between water, energy and food security ......... 20 3.2 Future forcing of the system ............................................................... 25 SECTION 4 ........................................................................................... 28 Hydropower performance and its influencing factors ............................................... 28 4.1 Power generation ................................................................................ 28 4.2 Economic impacts ............................................................................... 31 4.3 Social and environmental impacts ...................................................... 35 4.4 Water use ........................................................................................... 36 4.5 Greenhouse gas emissions ................................................................ 37 4.6 Section summary ................................................................................ 37 SECTION 5 ........................................................................................... 39 Ongoing interventions to improve hydropower performance .................................... 39 i 5.1 Addressing clearance delays .............................................................. 39 5.2 Integrating development ..................................................................... 46 5.3 Resettlement and Rehabilitation ......................................................... 46 5.4 Forestry ............................................................................................... 47 5.5 Water management ............................................................................ 47 5.6 Cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA) ...................... 48 5.7 Section summary ................................................................................ 48 SECTION 6 ........................................................................................... 49 Conclusions .............................................................................................................. 49 6.1 Build on the State Strategy and Action Plan for Climate Change ....... 49 6.2 Build partnership approach between people and hydropower projects ............................................................................................................ 49 6.3 Improve water and catchment management coordination .................. 50 6.4 Support definition, monitoring and enforcement of environmental flows ............................................................................................................ 51 6.5 Analyse trade-offs associated with water storage developments ........ 51 6.6 Identify opportunities to develop payments for ecosystem services (PES) approach .................................................................................. 54 6.7 Power sector structural reform ............................................................ 54 References ............................................................................................................... 56 List of Boxes Box 1 Climate change projections and impacts in India ........................................................................ 13 Box 2 Example of community management of water resources ........................................................... 47 Box 3 Potential benefits for project affected families (PAFs) ................................................................ 50 List of Figures Figure 1 A framework for assessing hydropower performance in the context of water, energy and food security............................................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 2 Topographic map of Himachal Pradesh showing the location of major hydropower dams in operation on the Sutlej River. Inset map shows location of the state (black) within India. ..................... 5 Figure 3 Reliance on hydropower and access to electricity with water availability per headrepresented by the size of the circles .......................................................................................................................... 6 Figure 4 Climate change projections for India with HP shown in the north of the country .................. 14 Figure 5 Topographic overview of the Himalayan mountains, showing the location of the Sutlej Basin straddling the Indian border. ................................................................................................................. 16 Figure 6 Estimated long term water balance of the Sutlej basin to Bhakra Dam (assuming no change in storage) ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Figure 7 Cross section of the Sutlej main river channel and the proposed, approved and operational dams showing how the river length and elevation will be fully exploited ............................................. 18 ii Figure 8 Hydropower system interactions in Himachal Pradesh impacting on water, energy and food security both within the state and downstream. .................................................................................. 21 Figure 9 Changes to the current system shown in Figure 8 resulting from socio-economic changes – arrow thickness increase/ decrease compared to Figure 8 indicates increased/ decreased influence . 26 Figure 10 Changes to the current system shown in Figure 8 resulting from climate changes – arrow thickness increase/ decrease compared to Figure 8 indicates increased/ decreased influence ........... 27 Figure 11 Hydropower generation on the Sutlej River standardised by the installed capacity in MW between 1986-2013.