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State-run NHPC on Wednesday said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Department of Energy, Maharashtra for the development of Pumped Storage schemes and other Renewable Energy (RE) source projects in the state.
The MOU envisages development of four Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) aggregating to 7,350 megawatts (MW), namely Kalu (1,150 MW), Savitri (2,250 MW), Jalond (2,400 MW) and Kengadi (1,550 MW) as well as other RE source projects in the State. The MoU was signed on Tuesday, the hydro power major said.
R K Vishnoi, CMD of NHPC, expressed his gratitude to the Maharashtra government for reposing their trust towards NHPC for the development of PSPs in the state. “This shall be a stepping-start of NHPC in Maharashtra. These projects will attract an investment of about ₹44,000 crores and nearly 7,000 indirect and direct jobs in the state,” he added.
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The MoU entails harnessing the Pump Storage Projects as Energy Storage Solutions to achieve the national objective of Energy Transition—500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 and Net Zero by 2070.
The MoU in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was signed by NHPC Director (Projects) Biswajit Basu, and Maharashtra Principal Secretary (Energy) Abha Shukla.
In April this year, the Power Ministry issued guidelines for pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) projects, and kick started around 5 gigawatt (GW) of capacity addition over the next five fiscal years. Rising capacity share of renewable energy produced during non-peak hours is making investments in storage infrastructure an imperative.
According to Crisil, PHES projects, which can be set up at ₹7-8 crore per MW, are viable at a levelised tariff of ₹6-7 per unit, assuming input power is available at ₹2.5-3 per unit, at 75-80 per cent cycle efficiency, debt to equity ratio of 70:30 and interest cost of 8-9 per cent. However, the tariffs could vary depending on the location, which could impact capital cost.
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