Kohima: Nagaland is witnessing a growing demand for power, an official in the state government informed on Friday. While the present peak power demand of the state is about 180 MW, it is expected to reach 400 MW by 2025.
Engineer Inaho P Awomi, joint director of the state’s New and Renewable Energy (NRE), made the statement while presenting on the energy status in Nagaland during the launch of Energy Access Explorer (EAE) in Kohima.
The state, however, has negligible generation of its own. Nagaland is dependent mostly on the central sector allocation of about 140 MW and the rest from the energy market, which is cost-inefficient.
He observed that renewable energy can play a major role in meeting the state’s growing power demand. “Nagaland is endowed with enormous hydro potential sites, many are yet to be exploited due to funding and geographical constraints,” he said.
Hydropower
According to the officer, the state has an estimated hydropower potential of about 182 MW as per assessment made by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The state-owned installed capacity of small hydro power is 27.64 MW.
There are three major hydropower projects in the state, which are at the initial stage. These projects include 42 MW at Lower Tizu HEP; 24 MW at Zungki HEP; 24 MW at Tizu valley with a total capacity of 90 MW.
Solar
It was learnt that the state has an estimated solar power potential of about 7290 MW as per MNRE based on solar radiation and availability of land. Cumulative installed capacity in the state is about 4 MW of solar power, both on-grid and off-grid.
There are several solar projects under proposal, including a 5 MW solar power plant at Hovukhu village under Niuland district. The state-owned project is expected to be commissioned by August 2023 for Phase-I.
Another 5 MW Solar power plant (Phase-II) at Hovukhu has been approved in principle and is expected to begin work by October.
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Besides the two state-owned projects, a 10 MW power plant initiated by a private developer is planned for completion by the end of 2023 at Tuli in Mokokchung district.
Wind
Wind energy is another potential renewable energy source in Nagaland. The state has an estimated wind potential of about 30 MW. A pilot project of 20 KW wind-solar hybrid has been installed, and nine potential sites have been identified by the NRE department.
Biogas
There are about 3220 units of biogas installed across the state. A 10 MW biomass power plant is under proposal by a private developer, at Tuli, under Mokokchung district.
Also read: NFR to boost inter-state connectivity, approves Zubza-Imphal line project