The Khopoli Hydropower Project is located at the foothills of the Sahyadris in Maharashtra and is one of the earliest hydropower stations in the region, originally commissioned in 1914. The station forms part of an integrated hydropower system and includes 3 storage dams, a 7 km long water duct, a forebay, a 4 km long surface penstock system and a surface powerhouse.

The original powerhouse housed 6 horizontal axis mono jet Pelton turbines, each rated at 12 MW, operating under a maximum gross head of 525 m. At the time of commissioning, Khopoli was the largest power station in India and featured the longest penstocks in the world.

The renovation programme involves replacement of the existing generating units with 3 x 24 MW vertical axis multi jet Pelton turbine units housed in a new powerhouse. The scope also includes replacement of 6 old penstocks with 2 new penstocks, each 4 km long, with diameters tapering from 2.4 m to 1.9 m. The new penstocks are fabricated using high tensile alloy steel plates conforming to ASTM A517 Grade B specifications. The new powerhouse is currently under construction.

TCE’s scope