CEA Approves Record Hydro PSP DPRs, Eyes 22 GW

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), under the Ministry of Power, Government of India, has concurred Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of following 6 Hydro Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) of about 7.5 GW in record time during 2024-25, marking a key milestone in India’s ongoing commitment to developing advanced long term energy storage solutions:

Upper Indravati (600 MW) in Odisha
Sharavathy (2,000 MW) in Karnataka
Bhivpuri (1,000 MW) in Maharashtra
Bhavali (1,500 MW) in Maharashtra
MP-30 (1,920 MW) in Madhya Pradesh
Chitravathi (500 MW) in Andhra Pradesh

This is the outcome of the collaborative efforts of the PSP developers, appraising organisations (CWC, GSI and CSMRS).

A number of steps were taken to resolve the issues and fast track the appraisal process. This is a big achievement since inception of new concept of Off-Stream, close loop PSPs. CEA has made the appraisal process transparent through the Portal “Jalvi Store”. The DPR for appraisal has been made shorter, check list has been provided for ease of submission of chapters to appraising agency and many more such initiatives.

Further, CEA has made ambitious plan to concur minimum 13 PSPs of about 22 GW during 2025-26. Most of these PSPs are targeted to be commissioned in 4 years and latest by 2030. Development of these projects shall boost energy storage capacity drastically in the country, making a major contribution to grid reliability and supporting India’s ambitious renewable energy goals. This further underscores the CEA’s ongoing commitment for facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient power system.

The participation of private sector in this segment is quite encouraging and with the help of self-identified PSP, the PSP potential in the country has crossed 200 GW and it is further increasing almost every month. Thus, from a meagre 3.5 GW of operational hydro PSP capacity in the country, the development needs to be taken up in an accelerated mission mode to harness this potential. This year two PSPs around 3000 MW will get commissioned and by 2032 we expect around 50 GW. At present 8 projects of 10 GW is under construction and DPR has been concurred for 3 projects of around 3 GW. In addition to this, 49 projects of 66 GW are under Survey and investigation. All these DPRs are expected to be finalised by the developers in 2 years.

Hydro PSPs are vital for the energy transition, as they allow excess electricity generated during off-peak hours to be stored in the form of water in elevated reservoirs. This stored energy can then be used back during non-solar hours peak demand periods, ensuring a reliable, consistent, and flexible power supply.

For developers and investors, it is a great investment opportunity to develop and invest in a long term assets of more than 70- 80 years.