| Hydro & renewables integration
Indian power capacity reached 46GW in January 2025, with solar and wind contributing 32% of the total. And by 2032, these renewable sources are expected to expand to 487GW, forming 54% of a projected 900GW power system. To maintain grid stability and effectively use renewable energy, India requires 27GW/175GWh of pumped storage capacity by 2031–32. Key recommendations from EDF’s report called
Strengthening India’s Pumped Storage Plant Framework, include: Project allotment and procurement: Introducing a two-step procurement process where technical feasibility is assessed before price bidding to improve project viability. Payment security measures: Establishing a centralised PSP procurement agency, similar to Solar Energy Corporation of India, to streamline contracts and ensure timely payments. State-backed escrow accounts linked to distribution company revenues could also mitigate payment risks. Regulatory and supply chain improvements: Simplifying approval processes through single- window clearance and offering temporary waivers on import duties for critical PSP components until domestic production meets demand. Aligning PSP procurement with global environmental, health, and safety standards could also enhance investor confidence.
Air Battery Using pumped storage technology and designed
to enable total renewables integration, Augwind – a company which recently joined the IHA – has been working hard on developing a pioneering AirBattery technology.
Combining the strengths of both pumped
storage hydropower and compressed air energy storage, AirBattery provides sustainable hydropower by utilising the same water pumps as pumped storage hydropower, but with less water and land requirements. The company has also recently commissioned a 0.5MW/1 MW demonstration site. As Augwind Founder and CEO, Dr. Or Yogev, said: “While innovation is key to decarbonisation, true disruption of the energy sector requires a cumulative effort by many stakeholders”.
IHA CEO Eddie Rich welcomed Augwind as new members of the association and agrees that innovation in renewables is key to solving the various challenges the sector faces.
Flexible
Reservoir-based hydropower can provide flexibility on short and long timescales, helping to accommodate rapidly growing shares of variable wind and solar power into power grids. However historically, such theoretical flexibility has been largely underutilised for at least two primary reasons. As Wang et al explain in Energy Reports, operational
flexibility has been less important in traditional systems with low penetrations of variable renewable resources and high penetrations of dispatchable thermal generation resources that offer substantial flexibility. In addition, the theoretical flexibility of individual hydropower resources may be constrained in practice by factors such as: Outdated operational practices. Inefficient market structures. Technical limitations imposed by ageing infrastructure. Non-power water flow constraints imposed by environmental or ecological considerations. In their research the authors conduct a capacity
Above: The shift towards wind and solar in energy generation is described as being the fastest transition in history
Left: Pumped storage has a key role to play in Australia’s energy future © crbellette /
Shutterstock.com
www.waterpowermagazine.com | April 2025 | 19
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