India is currently a power-surplus nation; however, excess renewable energy capacity remains underutilised due to limited capacity tie-ups, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Monday. Addressing a meeting, focused on Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs), of the consultative committee of the Members of Parliament at Pinnapuram, Andhra Pradesh, the minister said that PSPs can play a critical role by storing this surplus green power and meeting electricity demand during non-solar hours.
On the issue of evaporation losses from PSP reservoirs, the Minister suggested deploying floating solar power projects as a viable solution. He further underscored the pivotal role of State Governments in facilitating PSP development through timely site allocation, water allocation, and expeditious clearances.
The meeting was attended by Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Power, members of the consultative committee for the ministry from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, senior officials from the Ministry of Power, and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
The Power Minister urged the members to engage with State Governments to consider the withdrawal of charges such as Green Energy cess, water tax, and reservoir lease fees, to accelerate the development of PSPs. Additionally, the members were also informed that a nationwide PSP potential of approximately 224 GW has been identified.
"Of this, 10 PSPs with a total capacity of around 7 GW have been commissioned, another 10 PSPs of about 12 GW capacity are under construction, and 56 PSPs with a capacity of about 78 GW are at various stages of planning and development," an official statement said.
The members were apprised of the key policy initiatives undertaken by the Government of India to accelerate pumped storage project (PSP) development. These include the issuance of Guidelines for PSP development outlining modalities for site allotment, exemption from free power and Local Area Development Fund obligations, etc., and a full waiver of Inter-State Transmission (ISTS) charges for 25 years for projects awarded on or before June 30, 2028.