Gujarat-based power company Torrent Power has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra Government to develop three pumped storage hydro projects with a combined capacity of 5.7 GW.

The estimated investment in the project will be approximately ₹270 billion (~$3.27 billion). The objective of these pumped storage hydro projects is to provide a substantial six-hour energy storage capacity daily.

The three project sites selected by the company are Karjat (3 GW) in Raigarh District, Maval (1.2 GW) in Pune District, and Junnar (1.5 GW) in Pune District. All these sites are situated off-stream, ensuring minimal ecological impact.

During the construction phase, these projects are anticipated to generate employment opportunities for around 13,500 individuals.

Torrent Power aims to complete the execution of these projects within five years.

“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. Pumped storage hydro is a much superior solution than a battery for energy storage as it is cheaper, has a longer life of 40 years, provides longer duration storage of 6 to 10 hours with the feasibility of multiple cycle operations during the day,” the company stated.

Torrent Power has an aggregate installed renewable capacity of 1.07 GW, with 0.7 GW under development.

Maharashtra’s Department of Energy also signed an MoU with NHPC to establish Pumped Storage Systems and other renewable energy sources with a cumulative capacity of 7.35 GW.

The Ministry of Power recently released guidelines to regulate and promote the development of pumped storage projects in the country. These guidelines clarified the methods for allotment of project sites through competitive bidding and ruled out any upfront premium for project allocation to make it financially viable.

The ministry also proposed supporting pumped storage projects through concessional climate finance. Sovereign green bonds issued for mobilizing resources for green infrastructure may be deployed in developing these projects, which utilize renewable energy for charging.