43 Pumped Hydro Storage Projects With 55 GW Capacity Under Survey: Govt

43 Pumped Hydro Projects With 55 GW Capacity Under Survey: Govt

Union Power Minister R.K Singh in a written reply before the Parliament stated that a total of 43 Pumped Hydro Storage Projects (PSPs) are under survey and investigation in the country. 

He mentioned that these projects have an aggregate installed capacity of 55,085 MW. The minister also said that a total of four PSPs are under construction. They have the total installed capacity of 2780 MW. 

These included projects situated in states like Uttarakhand (Tehri Dam), Tamil Nadu (Kundah), Andhra Pradesh (Pinnapuram) and Maharashtra (Koyna). 

The list of PS projects under survey and inveastigation indicate that the highest of these proposed projects are located in Andhra Pradesh with a total capacity of 17.1 Gw. It is followed by Maharashtra with a capacity of around 15.4 GW. 

Others included Jharkhand (1500 MW), Odisha (1420 MW), Rajasthan (5560 MW), Uttar Pradesh (5940m MW), Madhya Pradesh (3245 MW), Karnataka (3900 MW) and Tamil Nadu (1000 MW). The total capacity from these proposed projects are pegged at 55,085 MW. 

“Ministry of Power has notified Guidelines to promote development of Pumped Storage Projects in the country on 10th April, 2023. Keeping in view the immense utility of the PSPs in grid stabilization as well as meeting the peaking power demand, guidelines have been formulated to promote PSPs and set the direction of its development. The Ministry seeks to promote the development of PSPs across the country with proactive support of the State Governments,” the minister said. 

The minister also said that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has also published revised Guidelines for Formulation and Concurrence of DPR of PSPs. Under the revised guidelines, the timeline for concurrence of DPR of following category of PSPs, has been reduced from 90 days to 50 days for–PSPs awarded under section 63 of Electricity Act, 2003 (determination of tariff by bidding process); PSPs which are part of Integrated Renewable Energy Projects that contain other RE sources such as wind energy, solar energy etc.PSPs being developed as captive plants or merchant plants,” the minister told the House.

He also said that the timeline for concurrence of DPR of other PSPs has been reduced from 125 days to 90 days.