The Indian state Uttar Pradesh has approved bidders for four new hydropower projects that will total about 3.4 MW of output, HydroWorld.com has learned.

The four new hydroelectric plants will be set up through public-private partnerships and include the 550-kW Kutubpur and 300-kW Dhakauli projects to be built in Meerut, 1.8-MW Betwa-1 in Jhansi, and 750-kW Akbarpur in Bulanshahar.

AMR Power Private Limited will develop Kutubpur and Dhakauli, while Oasis Contractors and Private Limited will develop Betwa-1 and Akbarpur.

All of the hydropower plants are expected to be commissioned by 2016, assuming they are approved by the Uttar Pradesh Energy Task Force and State Cabinet.

HydroWorld.com reported in July that a recent GlobalData report shows India's potential for small hydropower growth to be amongst the world's most significant.