HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS OF KARNATAKA
- Almatti Hydroelectric Project
The official name of Almatti Dam is Upper Krishna-I which is main reservoir of the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project. The Krishna River conflict between Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra was resolved by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal and the dam was authorised to be raised the height.
| District | Bijapur and Bagalkot district |
| Basin | Krishna |
| River | Krishna |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 32 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | BPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Harangi Hydroelectric Project
| District | Kodagu |
| Basin | Cauvery |
| River | Harangi |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 9 |
| Type of Project | Small (3-25 MW) |
| Owner | Private |
| Owner Name | EDCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Kabini Hydroelectric Project
| District | Mysore |
| Basin | Cauvery |
| River | Kabini |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 20 |
| Type of Project | Small (3-25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | Subhash Kabini |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Kalinadi Hydroelectric Project
| District | Uttara Kannada |
| Basin | West flowing rivers from Tapi to Tadri |
| River | Kalinadi |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 1180 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | KPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Mallapur Hydroelectric Project
| District | Raichur |
| Basin | Tungbhdra |
| River | Krishna |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 9 |
| Type of Project | Small (3-25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | KPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Munirabad Hydroelectric Project
| District | Koppal |
| Basin | Krishna |
| River | Tungabhadra |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 28 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | VVNL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Narayanpur Hydroelectric Project
| District | Bijapur |
| Basin | Krishna |
| River | Krishna |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 11.6 |
| Type of Project | Small (3-25 MW) |
| Owner | Private |
| Owner Name | Murd PC |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Seshadhri Iyer (Sivasamudram) Hydroelectric Project
| District | Mandya |
| Basin | Cauvery |
| River | Cauvery |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 42 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | VVNL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
Other Associated Entities with this hydro-electric Project are Kabini Dam, Krishnarajasagar Dam and Seshadhri Iyer (Sivasamudram) Power House.
- Sharavathy Valley Hydroelectric Project
| District | Shimoga, Uttar Kannada |
| Basin | West flowing rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari |
| River | Sharavathy |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 1306 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | KPCL, VVNL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
Other associated Entities with Sharavathy Valley Hydroelectric Project are Chakra Dam, Gerusoppa Dam, Linganamakki Dam and Power House, Mahatma Gandhi Jog Falls Power House, Sharavathy Power House.
- Shivpur Hydroelectric Project
| District | Raichur |
| Basin | Tungabhadra |
| River | Krishna |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 18 |
| Type of Project | Small (3-25 MW) |
| Owner | State |
| Owner Name | BPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
Other associated Entities with Shivpur Hydro-Electric Project are Shivpur Power House and Tungabhadra Dam.
- Simshapura Hydroelectric project
| District | Mandya |
| Basin | Cauvery |
| River | Cauvery |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 17.2 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State |
| Owner Name | VVNL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
- Tungabhadra Hydroelectric Project
| District | Bellary |
| Basin | Krishna |
| River | Tungabhadra |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 72 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | Central |
| Owner Name | Tungabhadra Board |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
Other associated Entities with Hydro-Electric Project are Hampi Power House and Tungabhadra Dam Power House.
- Varahi Hydroelectric Project
| District | Raichur, Udupi |
| Basin | West flowing rivers from Tadri to Kanyakumari |
| River | Varahi |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 469 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State |
| Owner Name | KPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE Region |
Other associated entities with Hydro-Electric project are Hosur Saddle Dam, Hulical Forebay Saddle Dam, Mani Dam Power House, and Varahi H.E.Pickup Dam.
- Bhadra Hydroelectric Project
| District | Chickmagalur |
| Basin | Krishna |
| River | Bhadra |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 39.2 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | KPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE region |
- Ghatprabha Hydroelectric Project
| District | Belgaum |
| Basin | Krishna |
| River | Ghataprabha |
| Total Installed Capacity (MW) | 32 |
| Type of Project | Major (> 25 MW) |
| Owner | State government |
| Owner Name | KPCL |
| Hydroelectric Region | Southern HE region |
Apart from above given major hydroelectric projects Karnataka also boasts of various dams which significantly contribute in irrigation and other ancillary developmental projects. The most important among these are –
1. Raja Lakhamagowda dam
Raja Lakhamagowda dam, also known as Hidkal dam, is a dam constructed across the Ghataprabha River in the Krishna river basin. It is situated in Belgaum district in North Karnataka, India. The dam with the height of about 62 metres impounds a large reservoir with a gross surface area of about 63 square kilometres, and storage capacity of approximately 51 tmcft. It caters to the irrigation needs for over 8 lakh acres, along with hydel power generation. It is constructed as a part of the Ghataprabha Irrigation project. The dam is named after Raja Lakhamagowda Sardesai, a renowned philanthropist of the area.
- Renuka Sagara
Renuka Sagara, also known as Malaprabha reservoir and Navilutheertha reservoir, is a dam and impounding reservoir constructed across the Malaprabha River in the Krishna River basin. It is situated in Belgaum districtin North Karnataka, India. The dam with the height of approximately 43 metres impounds a large reservoir with a gross surface area of approximately 54 square kilometres, and storage capacity of approximately 38 tmcft. It caters to the irrigation needs for over 5.40 lakh acres, along with hydel power generation.
3. Supa Dam
The Supa Dam is Asia’s second largest dam base don backwater. It is located in Uttar Kannada district on Kalinadi river. The catchment area of the dam is approximately 1,057 km2 with Installed capacity of 100 MW. Supa Dam was built by Hindustan Steel Works Construction Limited (HSCL). It has a gross storage capacity of 4178 Mcum and a live storage of 4115.25 Mcum of water. It is a concrete gravity dam with a height of 101 m.
- Linganamakki Dam
The Linganamakki dam is located about 6 km from Jog Falls. The dam was designed to impound water in an area of around 300 km. The dam’s height is 1,819 feet (554 m) above sea level. It receives water mainly from rainfall and also from the Chakra and Savahaklu reservoirs, which are linked to Linganamakki through a canal and also Sharawathi river. The water from the Linganamakki dam flows to reservoir through a trapezoidal canal. It has a catchment area of about 46 km². The power house has a power generation capacity of 55 MW.
5. Krishna Raja Sagara
Krishna Raja Sagara is the name of both a lake and the dam that creates it. The gravity dam made of surki mortar is situated below the confluence of river Cauaveri with its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana Tirtha, in the district of Mandya. Catchment area of the reservoir is approximately 10,619 km2 .The water released from this dam flows into the state of Tamil Nadu, and is stored in Mettur dam in the Salem district. There is an ornamental garden attached to the dam, called Brindavan Gardens.
Historical Background of the Dam
The region of Mysore and especially Mandya had historically been dry, and had witnessed mass migration to adjoining areas in the hot summers. A severe drought in 1875–76 had wiped out one-fifth of the population of the Kingdom of Mysore.
The Chief Engineer of Mysore M. Visvesvaraya presented a blueprint of a dam to be built across the River near the village of Kannambadi. Upon examining, he was given consent issuing an order on 11 October 1911 to begin the project.
Brindavan Garden
The Brindavan Garden is a show garden that has a botanical park, with fountains, as well as boat rides beneath the dam. Diwan Sir M. Vishweshwaraiah of Mysore planned and built the gardens in connection with the construction of the dam. Various biological research departments are housed here.
Apart from these major projects there are also a few important projects (which are given in tabular form), such as –
| Dam/Reservoir | River | Location (District) |
| Basava Sagara Dam | Krishna | Bijapur |
| Linganamakki Dam | Sharavathi | Shimoga |
| Hemavathi Reservoir | Hemavathi | Hassan |
| Shanti Sagara | Haridra | Davanagere |
| Kadra Dam | Kali | Uttara Kannada |
| Kanva Reservoir | Kanva | Ramanagara |
| Kodasalli Dam | Kali | Uttara Kannada |
| Vani Vilasa Sagara | Vedavathi | Chitradurga |