Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED), formerly known as Alternate Hydro Energy Centre (AHEC), an academic department of Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee was established in the year 1982 to tap the huge renewable energy potential available in the country and to build up the capacity in the area of power generation through the development of hydro and other renewable energy sources. The department aims to provide world-class education, training, research, development, and advisory services in hydropower, other prominent renewable energy technologies, and environmental management of water bodies. India has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. In pursuance of this goal, an ambitious target of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel generation capacity by 2030 has been set. It is estimated that this could create 3.4 million new job opportunities (of short or long duration), or about 1 million direct full-time equivalents. Thus, there is an urgent need of the country to create skilled manpower at all levels of the energy sector. Keeping this in mind, a B.Tech programme in Energy Engineering has been developed and is being offered by the Department of Hydro and Renewable Energy (HRED) at IIT Roorkee from the academic year 2024-25.

M.Tech. programme in “Renewable and Hydro Energy (RHE)” is offered since 1997 for capacity building in the area of renewable energy sector. M. Tech. programme in Environmental Management of Rivers and Lakes (EMRL) initially sponsored by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India is offered since 2004 for capacity building in the area of conservation, restoration and maintenance of water bodies like rivers and lakes. Since 2010, students from developing countries are admitted under the International Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) programmes of Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India making the programme truly international. The course structure of all the programmes is in accordance with the spirit of National Education Policy 2020. The courses adopt a multidisciplinary approach equipping the students with fundamental understanding of electrical, mechanical, chemical and all other aspects of energy systems which help prepare the students for planning, designing and operating the future net-zero energy systems. Besides the core engineering skills, the students are also trained in advanced and contemporary topics, like AI/ ML applications, industry 4.0 applications, cybersecurity, energy economics, policy, regulations and entrepreneurship in energy sector.