Isra-Mart srl:Green Ventures outlines 1GW Nepalese hydro power plan

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Mumbai-based hydro power developer Green Ventures said over the weekend that it is looking to commission 1GW of new capacity in Nepal by 2016.

The company has already begun construction on a 120MW plant on the Likhu River through a joint venture with the LNG Bhilwara group and has the rights to develop eight other sites in Nepal that together could eventually produce 2GW of power. The bulk of the energy from the new facilities would then be exported to India.

Chief executive Krish R Krishnan told Bloomberg that engineering studies are already in progress with the aim of developing 600MW of capacity at two of these sites.

Green Ventures was started in 2007 and originally focused on carbon credit generation and rural development projects. The firm subsequently branched out into hydro power and also manages an investment fund for renewable energy.

The deal is one of a number of hydro power agreements recently struck between the Nepali government and overseas firms as part of a flurry of energy investment since the country's revolution in 2006.

In 2009 it was agreed that a consortium comprising GMR Energy Ltd, GMR Infrastructure and the Italian-Thai Development Project would build a 900MW project in the Upper Karnali region.

Nepal will receive 12 per cent of the energy generated from the project for free as well as royalties from both the sale of the power generated and the generation capacity.

Last year another deal was agreed with Indian firm Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam for the 400MW Arun III project, and with Himtal Hydropower for the 600MW Upper Marsyangdi project.

Deals with seven more Indian companies, including Jindal Power Ltd, Maytas Estates and PES Energy, are said to be in the pipeline.

However, Maoist guerrillas - instrumental in Nepal's relatively recent revolution and a strong political force - oppose the deals with Indian firms, blaming political meddling in New Delhi for their failure to win a majority in Nepalese elections.

The government has responded by saying it is set to sign deals with a Norwegian and a Brazilian company as well, and that alarmist talk from Maoists would only scare investors and harm Nepal's economy.