CEA Pegs India's Pumped Storage Potential at 345.38 GW as the Country Ranks Fourth Globally

21 October 2026National

The Ministry of Power and the Central Electricity Authority highlighted pumped storage projects (PSPs) in October 2026 as India works from the 300 GW of non-fossil capacity crossed in August 2026 towards 500 GW by 2030. India is fourth in installed pumped storage behind China (66 GW), Japan (22 GW) and the United States (19 GW), with 7.43 GW operational across 10 projects and 15.87 GW under implementation. CEA has identified 320 sites with 345.38 GW of potential and projects a need for 73.93 GW of storage by 2031-32, rising to 105.56 GW of PSPs by 2035-36.

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The Central Electricity Authority is a statutory body under the Electricity Act 2003 and advises the Ministry of Power on technical and economic matters | Pumped storage works by pumping water to an upper reservoir in off-peak hours and releasing it through reversible turbines at peak demand, with a round-trip efficiency of about 70-80% | India's 500 GW non-fossil capacity target by 2030 was announced as part of the Panchamrit commitments at COP26 in Glasgow

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