Bunakha Green Power Development Project (formerly Third Green Power Development Project)

proposed

The Bunakha Green Power Development Project supports a strategically important 180-megawatt (MW) Bunakha hydropower plant (HPP) with a storage reservoir located upstream of the Wangchhu river cascade in Bhutan. It is designed to regulate river flows and optimize generation at downstream run-of-river hydropower plants, Chukha (336 MW), and Tala (1,020 MW) which currently suffer from seasonal variability. In addition to the estimated annual energy generation of 719 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from the Bunakha HPP, the project is expected to contribute an additional energy generation of 745 GWh annually from the existing downstream power plants during the dry season. The project will enhance Bhutan's energy security, reduce dry-season generation deficits, and increase clean energy exports to neighboring India.