Megha Engg. Bags 2000 MW Pumped Storage Project

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Hyderabad based infrastructure firm Megha Engineering and Infrastructure (MEIL) has been awarded the 2,000-megawatt Sharavathi pumped storage power project in Karnataka. The project, which is set to be the largest pump storage power generation unit in the country, is estimated to cost over Rs 8,000 crore and play a key role in Karnataka’s energy future. Karnataka Power Corporation Limited  has commissioned the project.

The project will use Talakalale as the upper reservoir and Gerusoppa as the lower dam, with an implementation timeline of 5 years.

Pumped storage projects work best with renewable energy, so that excess energy produced during say, daytime can be used to pump water up to a storage tank, and during evening hours, the same water can be released through a controlled tunnel to generate hydro poweron demand.  By providing a flexible and adaptable solution to fluctuations in electricity demand for Karnataka, the project is expected to play a vital role in helping the state manage the transition to more green energy.

India CEA has estimated the on-river pumped storage hydro potential in India to be about 103 GW. Out of 4.75 GW of pumped storage plants installed in the country, 3.3 GW are working in pumping mode, and about 44.5 GW projects are at various stages of development. These projects are considered vital for the country to meet its target of 500GW of renewables in the grid by 2030.

As tariffs for electricity from pumped storage falls below thermal plants, they build their own case for faster adoption. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has estimated a storage capacity of 74 GW by 2032. In order to achieve this target by 2032, completion
of about 7,900 MW of PSPs per year is necessary.

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For Megha Engineering, the project and its success will open up a massive amount of opportunities in the sector, and its reputation with large hydro infrastructure projects. The firm has been in the news recently for issues with the massive Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project in Telangana which ran into issues and led to an investigation. Even for the Sharavathi pumped storage power project, L&T had filed a case aganst what it termed a biased award process, but their appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

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