India was a pioneer in hydroelectric power, with the Darjeeling plant opening in 1898 and the Shivanasamudra plant in 1902. As of now, India has over 36,000 MW of installed hydroelectric capacity. Hydro power has many advantages - water is renewable, facilities can be located near water sources, and hydro plants have high efficiency and long lifespans with low maintenance costs. Site selection considers water availability and storage, head height, distance to loads, and accessibility. Hydro plants are classified based on capacity from micro to super-scale, and also based on head height from low to very high.

2. Hydro Power Plant India is Pioneer in HEP Darjeeling(1898) and Shivanasamudra (1902) one of the first in Asia. Installed Capacity – 36,647.76MW

3. Hydro Power Plant

6. Advantages of Hydro Power Plant Water is self – replenishing, non wasting. Water reaches the powerhouse site on its own. Water after producing electricity can be used for drinking or irrigation. Efficiency of HEP is high(about 80%). HEP has ver long life. Maintenance is easy and less expensive. The percentage outage is low. Benefits of recreation, fisheries etc.

7. Selection of sites Availability of water Storage of water Head of water Distance of power station to the load centres Accessibility of site

8. Classification of HEP Plant based on Capacity Micro Hydro plants : < 100KW Mini Hydro plants : 100KW to 1MW Small Hydro plants : 1MW to few MW Hydro plants : More than a few MW Super Hydro plants : More than 1000MW

9. Classification of HEP Plant based on Operation Base Load Plant – Continuous power generation Peak Load Plant – Regulated Release of water is permitted

10. Classification of HEP Plant based on Head Low head plants < 15m Medium head plants 15 – 70m High head plants 71 – 250 m Very High head Plants more than 250m