CEA Proposes Regulatory Reset to Fast-Track Hydro Pumped-Storage Projects
The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has unveiled a comprehensive roadmap aimed at accelerating the development of hydro pumped-storage projects (PSPs) across India. This strategic initiative seeks to address critical environmental and regulatory bottlenecks that have significantly hampered the pace of PSP implementation in recent years.
Key Recommendations for Policy Shift
In its latest blueprint, the CEA has proposed several groundbreaking measures to streamline the approval process for PSPs. The authority recommends permitting hydro pumped-storage projects within eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) and up to a 10-kilometer aerial distance from protected areas where ESZs have not been formally notified. This represents a substantial departure from current regulations that prohibit PSPs and hydropower projects within ESZs and the default 10-kilometer buffer around protected areas.
The roadmap also advocates for a differentiated regulatory framework specifically tailored for renewable energy projects, along with relaxation of stringent conditions applicable to environmentally sensitive regions such as the Western Ghats. These recommendations come at a crucial juncture when India faces mounting energy storage challenges due to the increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
Addressing Environmental Concerns and Local Opposition
The CEA's proposals emerge against a backdrop of environmental apprehensions and local protests against PSPs in several states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra's Western Ghats region. Communities and environmental activists have consistently raised concerns about potential risks to forests, fragile ecosystems, and endangered wildlife species.
Eco-sensitive zones, which are areas surrounding protected areas notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, are designed to safeguard environmentally fragile ecosystems. The CEA's recommendations, if implemented, would mark a significant policy shift by allowing PSP development in zones where such projects were previously prohibited.
India's Ambitious Energy Storage Targets
The roadmap outlines ambitious targets for India's pumped-storage capacity expansion. According to CEA estimates, the country's total installed PSP capacity is projected to surge dramatically to 87 gigawatts by 2033-34 from the current 7.1 gigawatts. Furthermore, the authority anticipates that installed PSP capacity will exceed 100 gigawatts by 2035-36, positioning pumped storage as a cornerstone of India's renewable energy transition.
The CEA has explicitly prioritized PSPs over Battery Energy Storage Systems, citing their superior ability to provide flexible, fast-responding grid balancing support and store electricity for extended durations. Pumped-storage projects function as large-scale energy storage systems that utilize the gravitational potential of water to store and generate electricity efficiently.
Environmental and Regulatory Bottlenecks Identified
The CEA roadmap identifies environmental and forest-related clearances as primary factors behind the sluggish pace of PSP development in India. The document notes that current clearance processes for PSPs remain excessively cumbersome, as these projects are treated identically to conventional hydro projects for environmental clearance (EC) and forest clearance (FC) purposes.
Several specific regulatory challenges have been highlighted:
- The difficulty in finding suitable non-forest land for compensatory afforestation near project sites
- Blanket prohibitions against PSPs within ESZs and default buffer zones around protected areas
- Substantial delays in forest clearances, particularly Stage-II approvals
- Requirements for fresh environmental clearances even for minor increases in generation capacity
- Pending approvals of mining plans and extended gaps between Stage-I and Stage-II clearances
The roadmap emphasizes that PSPs developed on existing reservoirs, on-the-river sites, or off-the-river locations typically have significantly lower environmental impact compared to conventional hydropower projects. Additionally, unlike traditional hydro projects, PSP development generally does not lead to substantial displacement of people, thereby minimizing rehabilitation and resettlement requirements.
Proposed Solutions for Streamlined Development
To overcome these challenges, the CEA has proposed several innovative solutions. The authority suggests treating PSPs developed on existing reservoirs and off-the-river sites as a distinct category during environmental and forest clearance processing. This differentiated approach would acknowledge their reduced environmental footprint compared to conventional hydro projects.
The roadmap also recommends easing several environmental and land-related norms, including:
- Allowing the use of degraded forest land—twice the area of forest land diverted—for compensatory afforestation instead of non-forest land
- Creating a national-level land bank for compensatory afforestation with mapped degraded land, a GIS-based repository, and a comprehensive monitoring framework
- Extending viability gap funding (VGF) support to PSPs, similar to the VGF scheme for Battery Energy Storage Systems, to help offset high capital costs
These proposed measures aim to create a more conducive regulatory environment for PSP development while balancing environmental conservation priorities with India's urgent need for large-scale energy storage solutions.
