Credit ratings agency Crisil on Wednesday said that the recent guidelines by the power ministry will kickstart about 5 GW of capacity addition in pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) projects over the next five fiscals.
“The Ministry of Power (MoP) guidelines could speed up environmental clearances for off-river PHES projects as these are being offered under a separate window,” Crisil Ratings Director Ankit Hakhu said.
The guidelines provide for land at concessional rates on annual lease rental basis. They also enable utilisation of exhausted mines for PHES projects and provide a relaxation of one year for projects where construction is delayed due to pending forest and environmental clearance.
