The Energy Transition in Sikkim, India

Sikkim, perched on the eastern Himalaya between Khangchendzonga’s glaciers and the Teesta gorge, already runs almost entirely on its fast rivers. Installed capacity is about 2.2 GW, more than seven times the state’s 300 MW peak demand—driven by the 1,200 MW Teesta III, 510 MW Teesta V and a string of smaller run-of-river schemes. Surplus power feeds the northern grid, yet the 2030 roadmap still calls for 150 MW of rooftop and valley-floor solar, backed by 100 MWh of batteries and a 600 MWh pumped-storage upgrade at Teesta V to shift snow-melt surpluses into the winter evening peak. A 25 MW electrolyser pilot at Rangpo will blend green hydrogen into industrial gases and provide fuel for altitude-tested buses on the Gangtok–Nathula axis. Sikkim’s geology mirrors its hydropower resource. The Rangpo dome hosts copper-zinc lodes with cobalt credits, graphite bands outcrop in Dzongu, and tungsten–molybdenum showings occur near Lachen. High-altitude pegmatites are being sampled for lithium-bearing spodumene, while talus-hosted rare-earth traces have been reported along the Yumthang valley. By coupling surplus hydro, niche solar and storage with this emerging critical-mineral basket, Sikkim is positioning itself as a Himalayan clean-energy exporter and strategic materials node for Northeast India.