Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project-Environmentally sound hydropower

摘要

This paper presents the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project in Jammu Kashmir in northern Pakistan. Due to its importance to the future power supply to the country, the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project has long been prioritiesed by the Government of Pakistan. The feasibility study has recently been updated by a team of Norwegian consultants and WAPDA staff led by Norconsult International A.S who are currently carrying out the detailed design of the project. Neelum-Jhelum is a run-of-river scheme and utilises a gross head of about 420 m by diverting the Neelum River water from the village of Nauseri on the Neelum River to the lower limb of jhelum River through a 32.5 km long tunnel system The optimised maximum power station output is 969 MW, corresponding to a designed maximum discharge of 280 m~3/s. The optimised project yields an average annual energy generation of 5254 GWh. Due to the adoption of an underground layout and careful planning the project has limited environmental impact and the recommended mitigation measures ensure that it not adversely consume bioloical resources nor adversely impact on human communities. When implemented the project will be the first underground hydroelectric project in Pakistan of its kind and the experience gained from design and construction of its long tunnel system should act as a catalyst for development of the country's hydropower resources by way of environmentally friendly underground solutions.