Roorkee, Apr 21: In a significant contribution to India’s clean energy transition, the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee has developed a New facility for R&D in Ultra Low head and Hydrokinetic Turbines at its Department of Hydro and Renewable energy, outlining the institute’s commitment to support the country’s Net Zero 2070 goals.
The facility was inaugurated by Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), who emphasized the importance of Small Hydro Power (SHP) in India’s energy transition.
Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi stated, “Small hydro power will play an important role in rural, remote and hilly areas, while supporting over 50 Lakh person days of employment during the project construction till FY 2030-31. This facility will enable R&D into new SHP technologies, particularly ultra-low-head and hydrokinetic turbines, for industry adoption and deployment. This facility along with the recently announced SHP Development Scheme demonstrate MNRE’s commitment to SHP development and Net Zero 2070 goals of the country. He lauded the contributions of IIT Roorkee in this journey”
Developed under the leadership of Prof. Arun Kumar with financial support from MNRE, the twin research facilities at Department of Hydro and Renewable energy, IIT Roorkee: The Ultra-Low Head (ULH) Laboratory and the Hydrokinetic Turbine (HKT) facility, mark a transformative step in India’s clean energy mission. The ULH Laboratory tests innovative turbine designs, including vertical and horizontal propeller models, and fish-friendly screw turbines, capable of generating power from water heads as low as 1 m to 4 m, sites found abundantly in India’s irrigation canal falls and outfall structure of water and waste water treatment plants that conventional technology simply cannot exploit.
A key highlight of the visit was to know the capabilities of IIT Roorkee specially for floating solar Technology since the institute having the well-established leadership in dam safety, environmental impact and management of water bodies, policy, research.
Prof Kamal Kishore Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, in his remark reflected IIT Roorkee’s commitment to advancing science-driven solutions for India’s clean energy transition. The facility will play a pivotal role in enabling reliable, scalable, and sustainable energy systems, not only supporting national priorities but also contributing to global climate goals.”
During his two-day visit to IIT Roorkee, Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), undertook a review of the Hydro and Renewables Energy Department’s renewable energy research in hydro, solar, biomass, hydrogen, and grid integration and development initiatives, including indigenous locally available material-based battery development. En route to the Institute, the Secretary visited the Mohammadpur Power House, a 1945 commissioned low head small hydro project, and Chilla project on River Ganga.
Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi stated, “Small hydro power will play a important role in rural remote and hilly areas, while supporting over 50 Lakh person days of employment during the project construction till FY 2030-31. This facility will enable R&D into new SHP technologies, particularly ultra-low head and hydrokinetic turbines for industry adoption and deployment. This facility along with the recently announced SHP Development Scheme demonstrate MNRE’s commitment to SHP development and Net Zero 2070 goals of the country. He lauded the contributions of IIT Roorkee in this journey”
