The State government is considering a proposal that would see inflatable rubber dams being deployed across small rivers in the hope of “storing power” during rain.
Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who interacted with presspersons on Saturday, said five persons, including him, will travel to Germany to see the working of the dam. “We want to see how it works before considering implementing it in the State in rivers such as Kali (Uttara Kannada),” he said.
The inflatable rubber dam comprises rubber fabrics stretched across a channel or weir and can increase the upstream storage of water. Mr. Shivakumar said during times of excess power generation, hydroelectric power stations can pump water from downstream to upstream. Here, the pumped water can be stored in rubber dams and released during lean periods to run hydroelectric power stations.
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Over the last two years, depleting water levels at reservoirs had seen hydel power stations function at barely 45 per cent of the installed capacity, he said.
The State government is also reviving the power project to utilise the run of the river flow after Shivanasamudra Hydroelectric power station. The project was first proposed in 1987, and has languished since. However, Mr. Shivakumar said the Detail Project Report was being revised to ensure the cost of project is lesser than Rs. 1,000 crore so that clearance from Cauvery riparian States is not needed.