In an effort to tap the power generation potential of the irrigation channels, a 25 kW hydrokinetic power project will be commissioned in the left bank canal of the Moolthara regulator in Palakkad district.
The Energy Management Centre, Kerala (EMC), the electricity department’s agency, which is leading the project, has selected a New Delhi-based firm MacLek’s to implement it and is expected to issue work orders soon.
The cost of this 25 kW project is estimated to be Rs 65 lakh. EMC director R. Harikumar said that if successful, a larger three megawatt (3 MW) project would be set up in the same canal in collaboration with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
Hydrokinetic power projects, in contrast to large hydropower projects that rely on the potential energy of water stored in dam reservoirs, generate electricity by directly harnessing the kinetic energy of flowing water.
With large hydropower initiatives like the 163 MW Athirapally project due to environmental concerns, the power department and KSEB are pushing for smaller hydropower projects and similar options to tap the hydroelectric potential of the state’s water bodies.
In June this year, the power department approved a proposal submitted by the EMC to deploy hydrokinetic turbines in irrigation channels and tail race plans of a hydroelectric project managed by KSEB.
“For the 25-kW pilot project, we had initially selected the Malampuzha dam, but dropped it as the canal’s capacity utilization factor was found to be low,” said the EMC director. Studies have also shown that the left bank canal at Multhara has a steady water flow for 10.5 months in a year, which is ideal as the stability and velocity of flow are important for hydroelectric power projects.
EMC is also exploring the possibility of setting up a hydrokinetic project in the tail race scheme of KSEB’s Lower Periyar power project in Idukki district.