100 GW Hydro Pump Storage Target Needs ₹5.8 Lakh Cr

New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI) Around Rs 5.8 lakh crore worth of investments will be required to achieve 100 GW hydro pumped storage capacity by 2035-36, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) said on Friday.

Annually, 9 gigawatt (GW) of hydro pumped storage projects (PSPs) should be added at an average cost of Rs 6 crore per megawatt to achieve the vision.

As per CEA, 10 of the pumped storage projects with aggregate installed capacity of 7,175.6 MW are in operation in the country as of December 31, 2025.

In its report titled 'Roadmap to 100 GW of Hydro Pumped Storage Projects (PSPs) by 2025-36', CEA has projected that the installed capacity of PSPs is expected to reach 87 GW by 2033-34.


Accordingly, the installed PSP capacity is expected to cross 100 GW by 2035-36.

CEA said the projections are based on the present scenario. However, with increasing potential, especially under off-stream closed-loop PSP with a gestation period of around 4 years, the commissioning may be accelerated during later years.

On the need for PSPs, CEA said such projects are essential for ensuring the smooth integration of the rapidly growing share of renewable energy sources, particularly variable and intermittent solar and wind, into the national grid, alongside emerging technologies, such as electric vehicles (EVs), thereby enabling a quality, reliable and secure power supply.

They are capable of providing gigawatt-scale storage with long-duration discharge of up to about eight hours a day, and offer operational flexibility through frequent start-stop operations and fast ramping capabilities.

With a long life cycle of around 100 years (with periodic R&M of electro-mechanical systems), PSPs remain a durable and sustainable asset.