Indo-French Workshop on Hydropower

The Embassy of France in India and the French Development Agency (AFD), with support from the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, today organised an Indo-French workshop on Hydropower.

The Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Thierry Mathou, delivered the welcome address, followed by an address by Mr Benoit Gauthier, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs and Head of the French Regional Economic Service, Embassy of France. The Chairperson of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), Mr Ghanshyam Prasad, delivered the keynote speech on India’s strategy to develop conventional and pumped-storage hydropower.

This workshop brought together hydropower experts from the Indian and the French governments, including central public sector undertakings, as well as associations, financiers, and industries. They shared best practices and learnings during the six sessions on financing framework to support hydropower development, pumped-storage hydropower, environmental and social issues in hydropower development, opportunities and challenges for small hydropower, the strategy in India and France to develop hydropower, and finally renovation and upgradation of existing plants. The discussions also focused on cross-cutting issues such as the strategy to develop hydropower to facilitate the integration of intermittent renewable source in India’s power mix, the importance of considering environmental and social aspects in project planning to ensure their long-term sustainability, technical assistance and capacity building, and leveraging French know-how and expertise for key projects in the Indian market.

In his welcome address, the Ambassador of France to India, H.E. Mr Thierry Mathou, said: “Hydropower can help meet the energy transition challenges of the 21st century by greening our power mix and strengthening our energy security. It is our joint ambition to promote cooperation on hydropower and support business projects in France and India. I believe that this flagship Indo-French collaboration has great potential to encourage joint efforts in renovating existing installations, run-of-the-river projects, and pumped-storage solutions in support of India’s sustainable energy transition.”

In his keynote speech, Mr Ghanshyam Prasad said: “To successfully achieve energy transition in India and effectuate dispatchable renewable power for round-the-clock supply that will effectively manage peak load demand, there is a necessity of building an optimised ecosystem comprising solar wind hybrid projects along with conventional hydro projects wherein storage projects in terms of pumped-storage hydropower and electromechanical (battery) measures can be clubbed together.”

In his address, Mr Benoit Gauthier, Minister Counsellor for Economic Affairs and Head of the French Regional Economic Service, Embassy of France, said: “Our cooperation on hydropower must now deliver on the strong political mandate, and translate it into action. AFD is already financing two run-of-the river projects in Himachal Pradesh whereas French companies, which have a strong presence in Indian market, are willing to further engage in the development of hydropower in India. This workshop is an opportunity to have a dynamic exchange on the different aspects of the development of hydropower, giving a further impetus to accelerate Indo-French cooperation on hydropower.”

The participants included high-level representatives from the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India; representatives of Indian regulatory bodies such as the Central Regulatory Authority (CEA), the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), Grid India, and the Central Water Commission (CWC); public sector undertakings such as the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO); a representative from the French Ministry of Energy Transition; representatives of Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank (WB), the French Development Agency (AFD), as well as leading French and Indian industries such as EDF, TATA Power, Tractebel, Greenko, C2S2, ISL Engineering, Mahiti Hydro, Hydréole, Egis, Blue Water Intelligence and Ciel & Terre.

The seminar also featured international hydropower associations and sector specialists such as the International Hydropower Association (IHA) and IIT Roorkee.

France and India enjoy a long-standing friendship and have consistently acted together, building a high level of mutual trust and shared commitment. Cooperation in the field of energy transition towards a low-carbon future is one of the key areas of partnership between the two countries that has been given further impetus through the Horizon 2047 Roadmap, endorsed by the President of the French Republic, Mr Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on 14 July 2023. The Horizon 2047 Roadmap was adopted on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Indo-French strategic partnership and sets its course till 2047, towards a century of bilateral cooperation.

Both France and India have new ambitions to leverage hydropower and pumped-storage solutions as potential foundations of a cleaner and sustainable power mix, while, at the same time enhancing the performance of existing infrastructure through rehabilitation and upgradation efforts.

Discover French expertise on hydro in the booklet