Sawalkote Hydropower project

Why in news?

An apex committee of the Union Environment Ministry has accorded a fresh environmental clearance to the Sawalkote hydroelectric project in Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir.

• Sawalkote dam – It is a large run-of-the-river power project constructed on the Chenab River, in the Ramban and Udhampur districts of Jammu & Kashmir.
• First initiated in –1984.
• Capacity - Installed capacity of 1,856 MW.
• Developed by – National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
• 2 stages – The project’s installed capacity will be 1,406 MW in Stage-I and 450 MW in Stage-II (Received Stage-I Forest clearance).
• Once operational, it will set to become the largest hydroelectric project in the Union Territory.
• Features – The project will feature a 192.5-meter-high roller-compacted concrete dam and underground powerhouses designed to generate about 7,534 million units of electricity annually.
• It is projected to generate around 8,000 million units of electricity annually.
• Significance – This project is of strategic significance that the swift dam construction is essential for leveraging Chenab River’s potential and a vital source of peaking power for northern states.

References

1. The Hindu | Hydropower project on Chenab gets clearance
2. Economic Times | Sawalkote hydropower project on Chenab