A design consultancy service contract for a 1200MW pumped hydro energy storage project, paired with solar and wind energy and under development by independent power producer (IPP) Greenko has been awarded to AFRY India.
The Pinnapuram Pumped Storage Project in Andhra Pradesh, southern India, will be combined with a nearby 2,000MW solar farm and 400MW wind energy plant, connected to the 760/400KV national grid, according to a listing on Greenko's website. The company describes it as an Integrated Renewable Energy Storage Project (IRESP), which will be capable of servicing peak loads and baseload power as well as flexibility services for the local grid. Energy-Storage.news reported on the project when it was approved in 2018, although the capacity figures for the solar and wind generation portions appear to have been changed since then from 1,000MW and 400MW respectively.
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AFRY India, the local subsidiary of consultancy AFRY (formerly AF Poyry), said Greenko sent the company a Letter of Award for providing Detailed Design Engineering Services for the pumped hydro plant, in a contract worth around US$2.5 million. AFRY India said the project is being funded by several financial institutions as well as equity partners in India and the Middle East.
A recent Guest Blog for Energy-Storage.news by Kowthamraj VS, a team member at Indian government innovation agency NITI Aayog discussed the “comeback” that pumped hydro energy storage is making in the country.
While the technology requires a sweet spot of suitable sites and growing demand for electricity nearby, in a recent competitive tendering, Greenko submitted the lowest cost bid for renewables-plus-storage anywhere in the world, Kowthamraj VS wrote. The Pinnapuram project is one of two such IRESP projects that IPP Greenko is developing in India.
“This is an ideal reference to multiple IPPs and state utilities for their various upcoming Pumped Storage Projects (PSP). This project will set the benchmark in our credentials for upcoming PSPs in the region,” AFRY India managing director Sai Krishna Seela said.
