Construction starts on world’s largest hybrid energy storage project in Andhra

Construction work began on the world’s largest hybrid power project in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district on Tuesday with the state chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy performing the concrete pour ceremony.

The 5,230 MW Pinnapuram IREP will be the first of its kind single location energy storage project with wind and solar capacities. On completion by the fourth quarter of 2023, the facility will have a pumped or hydel power storage capacity of 10,800 MWh per day, solar storage of 3000 MW and wind storage of 559 MW.

On completion, the facility will provide Scheduled Power on Demand (SPOD) and is intended for both peak demand and baseload functioning. The project is being implemented by the Hyderabad headquartered Greenko Group at an investment of more than $3 billion.

Extending an invitation to India Inc. to set up more such projects in the southern state, Andhra chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “We offer an exclusive opportunity for people interested in green power and decarbonising the economies. Our topography is such that we have the capacity of 33000 Mega Watt available in the state, and this project will show the country how green power can be generated.”

“Andhra Pradesh is set to become an energy storage capital of India. This integrated solution is pivotal for the nation to become energy independent and establishes it as a leader of decarbonised economies,” observed CEO & managing director, Greenko Group, Anil Chalamalasetty.

The Greenko Group and Andhra Pradesh government had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project in February 2018. The design and engineering contract for the pumped-storage part was awarded in March of the same year.

Solar and wind power will be utilised to pump water from the lower to the upper reservoir of Sri Narasimharaya Sagar (Gorakallu Balancing Reservoir) as part of the project during the day. The water will be released back into the lower reservoir to generate hydropower at night. The facility is designed to supply up to 7 billion units (BU) of electricity a year.

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