Bhira Hydroelectric Project is an electricity generating complex in Bhira,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

state, India. It generates power using water from the nearby

Mulshi Dam Mulshi is the name of a major dam on the Mula river in India. It is located in the Mulshi taluka administrative division of the Pune district of Maharashtra State. Water from the dam is used for irrigation as well as for producing electricity ...

. Bhira lies approximately 150 km from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Its construction was completed in 1927.

Specifications

The plant's maximum output capacity is nominally 300 MW, generated by six 25 MW Pelton turbines and a 150 MW pumped storage generator added in 1997. In 2014 two 10 kW microturbine units were added to generate further power from the

tailrace A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...

after the main turbines.

Awards

In 2007 the

Central Electricity Authority The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) was a body that managed and operated the electricity supply industry in England and Wales between 1 April 1955 and 31 December 1957. The CEA replaced the earlier British Electricity Authority (BEA) as a r ...

(CEA) awarded a Silver Shield to the Bhira facility's operators,

Tata Power Tata Power Company Limited is an Indian electric utility company based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and is part of the Tata Group. The core business of the company is to generate, transmit and distribute electricity. With an installed electri ...

, as the second best performing power station in the country. The plant received a further Silver Shield in the following year.

Location

Bhira's rural location makes it a leisure destination for Mumbai residents.

Climate

The following climate data is for Bhira village in which the plant is located. Bhira has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(Am) with little to no rainfall from November to May and extremely heavy rainfall from June to September when it is affected by the Arabian Sea branch of the South-west monsoon with moderately heavy rainfall in October.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, India, Water, Renewable energy Hydroelectric power stations in Maharashtra Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in India 1927 establishments in India Energy infrastructure completed in 1927