₹7.36 trillion question: Can India store enough power to keep the lights on?

New Delhi: India’s pipeline to build 122.77 gigawatts of pumped storage capacity through 87 projects may require an investment of ₹7.36 trillion, according to industry experts, as the government seeks to add large-scale storage to support its rapidly expanding renewable power capacity.

The push is significant as India seeks to meet its 2030 target of 500 GW of non-fossil power capacity while managing the variability of solar and wind generation. Pumped storage plants can absorb surplus renewable power during off-peak hours and release it when demand rises, providing longer-duration storage and helping maintain grid stability as the share of variable renewable energy increases.

According to data from the Central Electricity Authority, the country’s apex power-sector planning body, 15.87 GW of pumped storage projects are under construction as of August 2026, while another 10.4 GW have received CEA clearance. Survey and investigation are underway for a further 96.5 GW of potential capacity. CEA has already come up with a roadmap to install 100 GW of PSP capacity by 2035-36.

The need for storage has become more pressing as India has been unable to fully leverage its intermittent solar and wind resources. Inadequate storage can threaten grid stability when generation falls because of cloud cover, rain or lower wind speeds, while sudden changes in demand can also affect grid frequency, which needs to remain between 49.90 and 50.05 Hertz (Hz).

In its roadmap for pumped storage capacity, the CEA has estimated an average cost of ₹6 crore per megawatt, putting the cost of developing 122.77 GW at about ₹7.36 trillion, according to experts. India currently has 7.42 GW of pumped storage capacity, including the 1,000 MW Tehri project commissioned in 2025. The CEA estimates the country has potential for 345.38 GW of pumped storage projects.

The investment push comes against the backdrop of 43 GW of solar power capacity yet to find buyers, with power distribution companies making distressed sales of green power on exchanges at prices significantly below their procurement costs.

Pumped storage projects have a higher upfront cost than battery energy storage systems, at about ₹6 crore per MW compared with around ₹2 crore per MW for BESS, and can take up to five years to build. But PSPs have a lifecycle of around 100 years, about 10 times that of BESS. They are also generally designed for longer discharge durations of more than six hours, compared with up to four hours for current BESS projects, making them suited to meeting peak demand and compensating for variability in the grid.

Experts say the CEA’s target, although ambitious, is achievable.

“Pump storage projects require four-to-five years for construction. In principle, a PSP requires a combination of two reservoirs which should have an elevation difference of 150-200 meters at the least. India has also developed projects with 500-meter difference between the reservoirs. The current targets are ambitious, but are not unachievable. The only thing is that geological issues or forest cover impact the prospects for some projects,” said AK Singh, hydrologist and adjunct professor at IIT Roorkee.

Singh, a former general manager at NTPC’s hydro headquarters, said there are a few pockets with strong potential, including the Western Ghats in Maharashtra and Karnataka and the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Odisha.

Other commissioned PSP projects include those by Tata Power, with 150 MW, Greenko, Mahagenco Ltd., with 250 MW, and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd., with 400 MW, among others.

Developers of projects currently under construction include Adani Group (3 GW in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra), Tata Power, with 1 GW in Maharashtra and JSW Energy, with 1.5 GW in Maharashtra.

The focus on pumped storage comes as the rapid growth of variable renewable sources such as solar and wind increases the power grid’s need for flexibility, balancing power and long-duration storage. PSPs can provide large-scale storage, grid inertia and balancing support as more renewable capacity is added.

This is particularly important for India’s integrated synchronous national grid, where a disruption in one region can potentially affect the wider system. The grid has faced warnings over sudden drops in solar generation that have contributed to instances of falling frequency.

According to the CEA’s resource adequacy studies for all states through 2034-35, long-duration storage of around six hours will be required to integrate higher volumes of renewable energy beyond 2030.

About the Author

Rituraj Baruah is a special correspondent covering energy, housing, urban affairs, heavy industries and small businesses at Mint. He has reported on diverse sectors over the last eight years including, commodities and stocks market, insolvency and real estate; with previous stints at Cogencis Information Services, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) and Inc42.