On the twenty third version of the Hydro Energy in India convention organised by Renewable Watch and Energy Line, Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson, Central Electrical energy Authority (CEA), spoke concerning the renewed momentum in hydropower and pumped storage challenge (PSP) improvement, key sector challenges and alternatives, and coverage, regulatory and institutional reforms aimed toward accelerating capability addition. Edited excerpts…
Hydropower stays one of the crucial steady and dependable renewable power sources, offering not simply power but in addition flexibility necessities. Regardless of its strategic significance, India has been capable of harness lower than 50 per cent of its hydropower potential up to now. This underutilisation must be addressed urgently, significantly as the facility system transitions in direction of larger shares of variable renewable power.
States resembling Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand proceed to supply important alternatives, with hydropower tasks totalling 30-40 GW at the moment within the pipeline. These capacities are anticipated to materialise progressively over the following decade, extending into the early 2030s.
Nonetheless, capability addition alone shouldn’t be the true problem. The larger difficulty lies in altering the sentiment surrounding hydropower improvement. For many years, hydro tasks have been perceived as long-gestation, high-risk investments, usually stretching over 15-20 years. This mindset must shift throughout the complete worth chain, together with builders, lenders, insurers and gear suppliers.
A holistic method, supported by coordinated coverage interventions, is important to speed up execution timelines and restore confidence within the sector.
Via appropriate coverage reforms, the hydro sector has gotten a push, and the web result’s that hydro PSPs are getting commissioned in round 4 years. Some future tasks are even focusing on commissioning inside 33-36 months.
The rising problem of non-solar hours
India’s energy system at present faces a really totally different problem in comparison with the previous. Photo voltaic technology throughout daytime hours is now not the constraint. In actual fact, the system has been capable of handle upwards of 70 GW of photo voltaic capability throughout peak photo voltaic hours in current durations.
The true problem lies in assembly demand throughout non-solar hours, significantly within the night and early morning, when photo voltaic technology drops sharply however demand stays excessive.
That is the place power storage turns into indispensable. India basically has two viable storage choices at scale: pumped storage hydropower and battery power storage programs (BESSs). Whereas batteries have attracted important consideration on account of current tariff discoveries, warning is warranted in opposition to drawing untimely conclusions.
Most of the low tariffs noticed up to now are linked to short-duration, two-cycle functions, sometimes working for 2 to 4 hours. As period necessities improve and biking patterns change, prices are prone to rise.
In distinction, pumped storage hydropower turns into more and more aggressive as period necessities lengthen to round six hours within the night and three to 4 hours within the morning. Past 2029-30, the system is anticipated to require long-duration storage on a big scale, a phase the place pumped storage has clear benefits by way of life cycle price, sturdiness and operational flexibility, offering the specified inertia to the system.
Increasing pumped storage potential
One of the important shifts in recent times has been the reassessment of India’s pumped storage potential. In 2022, the estimated potential stood at 94-97 GW. With the introduction of self-identified websites and proactive engagement with non-public builders, this determine has now jumped to roughly 270 GW. New websites are being reported virtually each month, reflecting rising investor curiosity and improved coverage readability.
Tasks within the PSP area are being pushed by the non-public sector, marking a notable change from earlier phases dominated by public sector undertakings. This inflow of personal capital has been enabled by focused coverage reforms, significantly these associated to website identification, challenge allocation by states, and streamlined approval processes by appraising companies such because the CEA, Central Water Fee (CWC), Geological Survey of India (CSI) and Central Soil and Supplies Analysis Station (CSMRS).
Enhancing DPR high quality and approval timelines
The preparation and appraisal of detailed challenge stories (DPRs) have traditionally been a significant bottleneck for hydropower and pumped storage tasks. Till just a few years in the past, even consultants usually lacked the experience to arrange DPRs of the required high quality.
To handle this, the CEA, in coordination with establishments such because the CWC, GSI and CSMRS, performed a collection of workshops to construct capability and standardise expectations.
A transparent guidelines was developed to outline precisely what must be included in a DPR and what appraising companies ought to concentrate on. This has lowered ambiguity, repetitive queries and delays. Digital portals have been launched to trace every stage of appraisal transparently. Because of this, approval timelines have come down sharply.
Whereas the Ministry of Energy (MoP) had set an inside goal of 90 days for challenge clearance, many DPRs at the moment are being cleared in lower than 30 days of the submission of the entire DPR on the portal.
Environmental clearances and challenge categorisation
One other crucial reform pertains to environmental and forest clearances. PSPs have now been categorised into distinct buckets. Closed-loop, off-stream tasks, which haven’t any direct linkage to rivers, have been segregated and positioned in a class requiring considerably fewer clearances. These tasks don’t require interstate approvals and have acquired a extra facilitative method from the Ministry of Setting, Forest and Local weather Change.
Further relaxations have been launched for hydropower tasks, though just a few points, resembling necessities associated to pattern assortment throughout investigations, are nonetheless below dialogue. Resolving these may save 4 to 5 months within the challenge improvement timeline, significantly in the course of the investigation stage.
Capability addition targets and future pipeline
India is now getting into a section of accelerated pumped storage deployment. For the present yr, the goal is to fee round 2.6 GW of pumped storage capability, with further tasks already nearing completion. The next yr is anticipated to see one other 2.9 GW commissioned, together with a number of giant tasks.
Wanting forward, annual additions are projected to rise sharply consistent with the nation’s long-term useful resource adequacy plans, which point out huge storage necessities each in GW and GWh phrases as renewable penetration deepens by way of 2035 and past.
Street map to 100 GW of pumped storage
Recognising the size of the problem, the CEA and the MoP have revised earlier targets of 30 GW of PSPs by 2032. A brand new highway map outlines a pathway to attaining 100 GW of PSP capability over the following 10 years.
The report maps particular person tasks, assesses transmission readiness, estimates funding necessities, identifies manufacturing wants and consolidates coverage interventions required to maintain momentum. The momentum is now firmly in place, however sustaining it is going to require coordinated motion throughout the ecosystem.
Manufacturing readiness and provide chain dangers
One of many key dangers is provide chain constraints, significantly in gear manufacturing. Previous expertise within the thermal sector, the place restricted home suppliers led to bottlenecks, serves as a cautionary story. As pumped storage capability additions scale up considerably, home producers have to be ready to satisfy demand.
Tools suppliers ought to proactively broaden capability and align with the projected challenge pipeline. Making certain that generators, mills and related programs are manufactured domestically might be crucial to avoiding import dependence and sustaining the tempo of development.
Challenges and alternatives forward
The longer term outlook is optimistic. Going ahead, builders ought to prioritise comparatively easy websites as “low-hanging fruits” within the preliminary section, particularly closed-loop tasks in peninsular India. After a protracted interval of stagnation, hydropower and pumped storage are witnessing renewed curiosity and confidence.
With supportive insurance policies, sooner clearances and rising non-public sector participation, there’s a window of alternative for the sector to play a defining position in India’s clear power transition.
