In a strongly worded communication addressed to top central government officials, a power and climate policy analyst from Karnataka has questioned the rationale behind India's continued push for pumped storage projects (PSPs), citing a recent multi-billion rupee investment commitment by Adani Green Energy towards battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Shankar Sharma, the policy analyst based in Sagara in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats region, has written to the Secretaries of the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). His letter references a news report stating that Adani Green will invest ₹15,000 crore to add 10 gigawatt battery storage in FY27.
Drawing attention to the Adani Green announcement, Sharma posed a critical question to policymakers: "If the techno-economic attractiveness of such an investment in BESS is established, why should our country undertake the destruction of the ecology of river valleys in the country through more than 100 PSPs proposed/planned?" he wrote.
The analyst highlighted a stark cost disparity between the two storage technologies. Noting that Adani Green's investment implies a capital cost of approximately ₹1.5 crore per MW for BESS, Sharma contrasted this with the projected costs of the 2,000 MW Sharavati PSP in Karnataka, which he claimed exceeds ₹5 crore per MW.
"Why should our people be burdened with a capital cost of much more than Rs. 5 Crores/ MW in a PSP, as projected in the case of the 2,000 MW Sharavati PSP, Karnataka in addition to the humongous ecological costs of PSPs?" Sharma asked. He further cited a Prayas Energy Group study indicating that typical PSP capital costs can range from ₹8 crore to ₹12 crore per MW when reservoirs are required.
Citing the Prayas Energy Group report "Comparative Economics of 4-hrs Pumped Hydro and Battery Storage (2030)", Sharma noted that the levelized cost of electricity from BESS (1 MW/4 MWh) ranges from ₹3.8 to ₹4.1 per kWh—significantly lower than the ₹9.5 to ₹14.9 per kWh estimated for PSPs of the same capacity, even after accounting for battery replacement costs.
Sharma warned that continuing to prefer PSPs without proper due diligence would be a serious breach of public trust. "Without such due diligence, and without taking into confidence the interested civil society groups, it will be a serious let down of people's trust in the govt. policies to continue to prefer PSPs in the country," his letter stated.
The analyst pointed to rapid BESS expansion underway in India, with Central Electricity Authority projections showing capacity rising from approximately 43 GWh planned by 2028-2030 to over 1,840 GWh (1.84 TWh) by 2047, supporting the nation's 500 GW non-fossil energy target by 2030 and net-zero emissions goal by 2070.
Copies of the letter have been marked to the Chairman of the Central Electricity Authority, the Deputy Chairperson of NITI Aayog, and the Chief Secretary of Karnataka.
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