Torrent inks mega power deal with Maharashtra

In a mega deal in the power sector, the Ahmedabad-headquartered Torrent Power Ltd has signed an MoU with the Government of Maharashtra for the development of three Pumped Storage Hydro Projects of 5,700 MW capacity in the state.

The projects would entail an investment of about Rs. 27,000 crore and would provide employment to approximately 13,500 people during the construction period.

Torrent intends to execute these projects over a period of five years.

The projects would be executed at three sites identified by Torrent namely Karjat (3,000 MW) in Raigad district, Maval, (1,200 MW) and Junnar (1,500 MW) in Pune district.

All the sites are off-stream and the projects are planned to provide a minimum of six hours of energy storage on a daily basis.

“The share of renewable power, which is intermittent in nature, is rapidly increasing in the grid. This necessitates energy storage for load management and meeting peak demand. Pumped Storage Hydro is an established, proven and cost-effective technology for firm, flexible and dispatchable power. PSH is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations. Water is pumped to the upper reservoir at the time of excess power when it is the cheapest,” a press statement said on Wednesday.

At the time of demand when power is expensive, water flow from upper reservoir to lower reservoir generates power with a hydraulic turbine. PSH is a much superior solution than battery for energy storage as it is cheaper, has a longer life of 40 years, provides longer duration storage of six to 10 hours with feasibility of multiple cycle operations during the day.