The government on Sunday said it has approved two more hydro pumped storage projects (PSPs) towards realising the country’s renewable energy (RE) goals.
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) green-lighted these PSPs in Maharashtra —1,500 MW Bhavali PSP being developed by JSW Energy and 1,000 MW Bhivpuri PSP being developed by Tata Power.
The hydro PSPs will collectively provide a storage capacity of more than 15 GWh (gigawatt hours), according to Ministry of Power.
“This large-scale energy storage is crucial for meeting the peak demand during non-solar hour in addition to inertia to the grid, leading to grid stability. It will help in faster renewable energy integration, and supporting the transition to a greener energy system,” said the ministry.
CEA targets to approve at least two PSPs each month during the current year, depending upon the completion of the DPRs by the developers.
During FY25, CEA has targeted to concur 15 hydro PSPs of 25,500 MW capacity, out of this 4 PSPs of 5,100 MW capacity have already been concurred.
The approval of these projects, spearheaded by private developers, underscores the growing role of the private sector in driving India’s energy transition, said the government.
In order to ensure ease of doing business, CEA has developed an online portal “Jalvi-store” which will bring more transparency in processing of the chapters at pre DPR stage of PSPs.
“This marks a shift towards a collaborative energy ecosystem where public and private sectors converge to achieve national goals. This partnership will accelerate progress towards India’s renewable energy targets,” said CEA.
Last week, the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the revised scheme of budgetary support for the cost of enabling infrastructure for Hydro Electric Projects (HEP) with a total outlay of Rs 12,461 crore.
The modified scheme of the Ministry of Power for a cumulative generation capacity of about 31,350 MW would be implemented from FY2024-25 to FY2031-32.
The share of renewable energy, including hydro, in the country’s power generation is projected to rise to 35 per cent by FY30, up from 21 per cent in FY24.