India sees over 200 GW of hydro pumped storage potential

So far, 6.4 GW have been installed.

India has identified over 200 gigawatts (GW) of hydro pumped storage capacity across the country.

According to the Ministry of Power, the country has an installed capacity of 6.4 GW, whilst 8 GW is under construction and 61 GW is in various stages of planning and development.

India has reached 50% of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources, five years ahead of the 2030 target.

To support its renewable energy goals, the country is fuelling its energy storage system deployment, ensuring resource adequacy and necessary power generation capacity tie-ups.

Union Minister of Power and Housing Affairs Manohar Lal ji noted that 43 gigawatt-hour battery energy storage systems (BESS) are supported under the Viability Gap Funding Scheme (VGF) of the ministry. Financial support of INR 9,160 crore has been earmarked for BESS VGF schemes.

The minister “emphasised that whilst renewable energy sources like solar and wind have driven this transition, the backbone of a reliable, flexible, and modern power system will increasingly rely on Energy Storage Systems (ESS)."