Allain Duhangan 192MW Hydroelectric Plant, India

Construction of a 192MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant has begun in India. The Allain Duhangan project is in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh (Northern India). The build-own-operate project is owned by Allain Duhangan Power Company Limited (ADPCL) and is estimated to be costing $192m.

ADPCL will operate as a baseload plant during the summer and rainy seasons, and as a peaking plant in the winter and non-monsoon months. The project will help meet peak and energy shortages in the northern region of India, while helping to improve the country's hydro/thermal mix.

BHEL SUPPLYING HYDROELECTRIC EQUIPMENT

Allain Duhangan Power Company Limited (ADPCL) is jointly owned by Rajasthan Spinning & Weaving Mills Limited (RSWM), HEG Limited (HEG) and Malana Power Company Limited (MPCL). These sponsor companies are part of the LNJ Bhilwara (LNJ) group. The IFC (International Finance Corporation) contributed around $45m to the project.

Allain Duhangan is the third project for the LNJ Bhilwara group. The company will be involved in designing, manufacturing and commissioning the Pelton hydro turbines. The hydro sets are being manufactured at the company's Bhopal plant and the controls will be supplied by the electronics division in Bangalore.

LNJ is a diversified industrial group with interests in textiles, graphite electrodes, sponge iron, power generation and information technology. The company has undertaken two other hydroelectric power projects to date: the 86MW Malana HPP in Himachal Pradesh and the 13MW Tawa HPP in Madhya Pradesh.

Both RSWM and HEG are publicly listed companies in India. MPCL was commissioned in 2001 and is an 86MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric power plant located in the Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh. On a 90% dependable year, MPCL was designed to provide 370GWh of power to the Northern grid.

In January 2006, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) announced it is supplying equipment and would take 30 months to commission Allain Duhangan. The company said that it outbid major European multinational corporations under international competitive bidding.

ALLAIN DUHANGAN PROJECT IN MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN

The project is located in steep terrain of the Himalayas. It is requiring a portion of the Allain and Duhangan rivers to be diverted through tunnels to an underground power house to two 96MW generating units. A small diversion structure on the Allain River will supply water to an off-stream storage reservoir. That, together with water storage in both tunnels, will provide capacity for four hours of peaking generation during dry periods.

Short reaches of the Allain and Duhangan rivers will experience reduced flows, and environmental studies determined minimum flows to be maintained in each river below the two intake structures. Water will be returned to the Allain River through a tailrace tunnel. An above-ground switchyard and a 185km transmission line will connect the project to the regional electricity grid.

ADPCL will be located near Pirni, east of the Beas River and extends within the villages of Pirni, Hamta and Jagatsukh. The areas are sparsely populated due to the high elevation and steep slopes. In addition to project roads, ADPCL will contribute bridges and paved roads to the surrounding community. While ADPCL will maintain staff at the project site, the company will be headquartered in Delhi, India.

ADPCL prepared an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the project.

Environmental, social, health and safety issues associated with the project include land acquisition and resettlement, fisheries and riverine hydrology, forest conservation, impacts of the influx of a temporary construction work-force, environmental management of construction activities, worker health and safety during project construction and operations phases, dam safety, international waterways and the cumulative impacts of river basin development.

Wildlife Week 2004 remarks that the project was cleared in December 2000 by the MoEF in spite of an extremely poor impact assessment done in 1993. The organisation reports that subsequent studies commissioned by IFC indicated that the project is likely to affect wildlife corridors, including some rare species.