NHPC, Torrent Power sign MoUs with Maharashtra govt for pumped hydro projects
1 min read 06 Jun 2023, 10:00 PM ISTNHPC said under its MoU with the state govt the hydro power major envisages development of four pumped storage projects aggregating to 7350 MW
PremiumNew Delhi: NHPC and Torrent Power Ltd have signed a MoUs with the government of Maharashtra for development of pumped hydro storage projects.
In a statement, state-run NHPC said that under its MoU with the state government the hydro power major envisages development of four pumped storage projects aggregating to 7350 MW namely Kalu (1150 MW), Savitri (2250 MW), Jalond (2400 MW) and Kengadi (1550 MW) and other renewable energy source projects in the state. These projects will attract an investment of about ₹44,000 crores and create nearly 7000 direct and indirect employment opportunities in the state.
Torrent Power also has tied up to develop three pumped hydro storage projects in the state.
A statement by Torrent Power said that the projects would entail an investment of about ₹27,000 crore and would provide employment to around 13,500 people during the construction period, said a company statement. Torrent intends to execute these projects over a period of 5 years, it said.
The projects would be executed at three sites identified by Torrent namely Karjat (3,000 MW) in Raigarh District, Maval, (1,200 MW) and Junnar (1,500 MW) in Pune District. All the sites are off-stream and the projects are planned to provide a minimum of six hours of energy storage on a daily basis.
The share of renewable power, which is intermittent in nature, is rapidly increasing in the grid. This necessitates energy storage for load management and meeting peak demand. Pumped storage hydro is an established, proven and cost-effective technology for firm, flexible and dispatchable power. It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations. Water is pumped to the upper reservoir at the time of excess power when it is the cheapest.
At the time of demand when power is expensive, water flow from upper reservoir to lower reservoir generates power with a hydraulic turbine.
Torrent Power currently has an aggregate installed generation capacity of 4.1 GW, which consists largely of clean generation sources such as gas (2.7 GW) and renewables (1.07 GW).
It also has renewable capacity of 0.7 GW under development. Torrent’s growth focus in power generation remains on renewables, the company said, adding that to complement its growing portfolio of renewables and distribution, the company is strategically entering the storage space to fulfill the void left in the grid by intermittent renewable power.
