The few-dozen Indigenous residents were forced to relocate after falling boulders destroyed most of their previous homes in 2005. And villagers believe tunneling for dams was to blame, although authorities deny it.
But natural water systems have been altered by dams in this region that receives little rainfall, and farmers are struggling to irrigate their orchards. Spring waters from melting glaciers they’ve historically relied on also are drying up with climate change. The federal government aims to increase India’s electricity output from dams to 70,000 megawatts by 2030 - an increase of 50% that could account for 8.5% of India’s entire capacity. It also wants to add 18,800 megawatts of pumped-storage dams, which act as giant batteries that store energy by pumping water from one reservoir to another that’s elevated then releasing it through turbines to produce power.
About a tenth of India’s power comes from the sun or wind, and large dams provide the “backbone” by allowing it to balance the grid when there are sharp changes in demand, said Ammu Susana Jacob, a scientist at the think tank Center of Study of Science, Technology and Policy. While dams, unlike battery storage, aren’t reliant on expensive imports, they are still costly. Land needed to build them is scarce, and communities are often displaced. Cascading environmental impacts trigger local protests, like the one in Kinnaur, which add to costs. This helps make hydropower more expensive than solar or wind in India.
Signs of tensions over dam construction are visible on the national highway in Kinnaur: There are warnings about loose boulders on mountain walls, and ancient trees are painted with red crosses marking them for felling.