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					</table>The <a href="https://coal.nic.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ministry of Coal</a> has identified 20 abandoned mines to evaluate their feasibility for setting up pumped storage projects and leveraging vast land banks&#8217; economic advantages.
The projects will be developed to help utilize solar energy to generate hydroelectricity, promoting sustainable development in the coal sector.
The information was shared by the Coal Ministry Secretary at a review meeting.
The initiative aims to harness solar energy during the day and generate hydroelectricity at night.
NLC India will be conducting the feasibility study for pumped storage projects at the 20 identified sites. The Ministry has also directed stakeholders to undertake such projects to identify sites for setting up pumped storage projects.
It plans to implement engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and public–private partnership business models for such projects in collaboration with various stakeholders, including state governments, private players, and research institutions.
In October, at a meeting between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Ministry of Coal, it was <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/coal-ministry-green-hydrogen-pump-storage-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decided</a> that MNRE would provide essential technical, policy, and capacity-building support for the green energy initiatives. The Coal Ministry will offer land capital and oversee the implementation of projects related to solar energy, green hydrogen, and other renewable energy programs.
Coal central public sector undertakings possess land in open-cast mines with natural water storage reservoirs and elevations of approximately 100 meters. The meeting involved discussions about how these areas can be transformed into pump storage projects by constructing top reservoirs.
The pumped storage project is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other (discharge), passing through a turbine. During the low demand period, the water is pumped into the higher reservoir, and when the demand is high, the water is released to drive a turbine in a powerhouse and supply electricity to the grid.
The Coal Ministry said there are over 200 de-coaled mines with huge land areas, out of which many could prove feasible for pumped storage projects as lower reservoirs, head of water, and land are available.
Public sector undertakings of the Coal Ministry have set a target to create a renewable generation capacity of about 12 GW by 2030. As part of this endeavor, it is identifying suitable land patches spanning over 300 acres to offer to private investors interested in establishing green hydrogen projects, aligning with the MNRE’s policies.
At the recent National Conference of Power and New &amp; Renewable Energy, Power Secretary Pankaj Agarwal <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/india-renewable-power-capacity-fy24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> about India’s plans to add 21 GW of renewable energy capacity and 10 GW of thermal capacity during the financial year 2023-24.

Coal Ministry Identifies 20 Abandoned Mines to Develop Pumped Storage Projects

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					</table>The <a href="https://powermin.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ministry of Power</a> has proposed that pumped storage projects be supported through concessional climate finance. Sovereign green bonds issued for mobilizing resources for green infrastructure may be deployed in developing these projects, which utilize renewable energy for charging.
The ministry has issued draft guidelines for pumped storage projects in the country. The guidelines seek to utilize the immense potential of pumped storage projects in grid stabilization and in meeting the peak power demand.
Stakeholders have 15 days to submit their comments and suggestions.
Storage has emerged as the crucial link to bridge the intermittency of wind and solar power, the lowest-cost renewable energy sources in the world.
Financial Viability  
The draft guidelines suggested that the central government notify a benchmark storage cost for investment decisions of central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) for pumped storage projects considering 6-8 hours of operation. Efforts would be made to ensure that only those projects are taken up for development whose levelized cost of storage is within the benchmark cost of storage.
Taxes
It further said that the state governments should consider reimbursement of State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) on hydropower project components. For land acquisition, states may provide exemptions from payment toward stamp duty and registration fees. Government land, if available, will be provided at a concessional rate to the developers on an annual lease rent basis.
Market Reforms  
Further, the guidelines said that the appropriate commission should ensure that ancillary services like spinning reserves, reactive support, peaking supply, ramping support, and faster start-up and shutdown, which help in supporting grid stability, are monetized.
It added that the commission should notify peak and off-peak tariffs for the generation to provide appropriate pricing for peak and base load-generating plants.
Pumped storage projects should be allowed to participate in the proposed day-ahead market (HP-DAM) to take advantage of the price differential between peak and off-peak tariffs.
If the contracting agency is not fully utilizing the contracted capacity, the developer should be free to transfer the capacity usage to other entities.
Allotment of project sites 
As per the proposed guidelines, the state government may allot project sites to developers in the following manner:
<ul>
<li>On a nomination basis to CPSUs and state PSUs: States may award projects to central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) or state public sector undertakings (PSUs) on a nomination basis. Further, the CPSU or the state PSU should ensure that award of contracts for the supply of equipment and construction of the project is done based on competitive bidding.</li>
<li>Allotment through competitive bidding: Pumped storage projects may also be awarded to private developers under a two-stage competitive bidding process. The first stage will be pre-qualification based on financial strength, experience in developing infrastructure projects, past track record, turnover, and ability to meet performance guarantees. In the second stage, bids will be called based on parameters such as the concession period of the project or any other parameter specified by the central or state government.</li>
<li>Allotment through tariff-based competitive bidding: The projects may also be awarded through a tariff-based competitive bidding process. The projects will be awarded based on a combined tariff (including the cost of input power) if the input power is arranged by the developer or tariff for conversion of power from off-peak to peak if the input power is arranged by the procurer.</li>
</ul>
Utilization of Exhausted Mines
The discarded mines, including coal mines, could be used as hydro storage and thereby become natural enablers for the development of pumped storage projects.
Environmental Clearances for Off-river Pumped Storage Projects
The off-river pumped storage projects, located away from the river course, may be treated differently for grant of environmental clearance. Such projects, where both reservoirs are built off-river or where one is built off-river, and the other on-river reservoir undergoes minor modification to connect it with the new reservoir, may be treated as B-2 category projects. Such projects may be exempted from environmental impact assessment.
Recently, the Greenko Group <a href="https://mercomindia.com/greenko-%e2%82%b9100-billion-pumped-hydro-storage-madhya-pradesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would invest ₹100 billion (~$1.2 billion) in setting up a pumped storage project in the Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh. The company said the daily storage capacity of the pumped hydro storage would be 11 GWh.
Subscribe to Mercom’s real-time <a href="https://mercomindia.com/product/mercoms-renewable-energy-regulatory-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Regulatory Updates</a> to ensure you don’t miss any critical updates from the renewable industry.

Government Proposes Green Finance Support for Pumped Storage Projects

The New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (<a href="https://nredcap.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NREDCAP</a>) has floated a tender for reports on techno-commercial feasibility of pumped storage power (PSP) projects at 30 tentative locations in the state.
The deadline for the submission of bids is November 26, 2019, and interested bidders are expected to pay an earnest money deposit of ₹10,000 ($140) for each location.
Pumped storage power projects are systems where water is pumped uphill into reservoirs from lower elevations, and power is generated by the force of water flowing back downhill through water turbine generators. This is helpful when there is a higher peak power demand.
The scope of work includes conducting studies to verify the feasibility of setting up PSP projects on and off-rivers at the 30 identified sites across the state. The project aims to generate power to balance the variable renewable energy power and to meet the peak demand in the state.
The successful bidder will be expected to study the site conditions with the help of expert engineers consisting of concept and layout designers, hydrology experts, civil, mechanical, and electrical engineers involved in hydropower/pumping projects.  The filing added that an experienced geologist must be a part of the team as well.
Bidders are expected to have experience in preparing pre-feasibility reports for hydro or PSP projects should be experienced in conducting topographical and hydrographical surveys, and must have completed at least two such studies in India.
The tender noted that bidders are allowed to quote separately for each location, and NREDCAP can allocate projects to single or multiple bidders.
Previously, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/nredcap-tender-off-grid-solar-andhra-pradesh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that NREDCAP also issued a tender for the supply, installation, and commissioning of 1,490 solar lanterns and 235 solar street lights in nine villages of Durgi and Veldurthy mandals located in the state’s Guntur District.
Earlier, the Southern Power Distribution Company of Andhra Pradesh Limited (APSPDCL) <a href="https://mercomindia.com/andhra-tenders-4-mw-rooftop-solar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tendered</a> 4 MW of grid-connected rooftop solar projects to be developed in Tirupati and Vijayawada.
Image credit: Snowy Hydro Limited

Tender Floated for Feasibility Study of Pumped Storage Projects in Andhra Pradesh

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