Coal Ministry intends to build hydroelectric pump storage systems on abandoned mines

Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries intend to build pump storage facilities on the vast amounts of cleared land they have available as part of a significant diversification strategy. Highly placed sources claim that because the central government is so confident in such projects, the plan to establish such projects in the first phase would be completed in a month.

The ambitious objectives of the coal ministry include diversification into alternative energy sources, and through these pump storage projects, it intends to use solar energy to create hydro projects. According to additional sources, the coal ministry wants to construct such projects based on the PSP initiative guidelines that the power ministry released earlier this year.

Under it, the CIL and its affiliates will lift it using solar energy by using their shuttered mines' water storage facilities. Over such abandoned mines, reservoirs will be built, where the raised water will be kept. It will utilise the water lifted by solar radiation during the night to produce hydro energy. "We need to establish over ground reservoirs on such mines even when we have decorated land where there are subsurface water reservoirs. For this, arrangements are being made. The first phase plan will be available to PSPs in a month. We intend to make a huge effort to pursue it, a ministry source said.

In accordance with PSP, all coal mines with water present and coal removed will be converted into reservoirs after a feasibility analysis, and reservoirs will also be built above them. According to the source, we will use solar energy to lift subsurface water and store it in above-ground reservoirs. At night, we will produce hydro energy to power the turbine.

"PSPs are prevalent in other countries, but they are a fresh idea in India because we have never thought along these lines before. The action plan will be completed in a month once the coal ministry appoints a consultant. It's a top priority area, an official declared. PSPs, sometimes known as "giant batteries," are a widely used technology. It is typically used to sustain peak power and stabilise the system. The ministry asserts that the increase of renewable energy makes this technology the favoured option.

The PSPs are made up of two water reservoirs that are connected at various heights by a tunnel or underground pipe. These initiatives pump water from the lower reservoir to the higher reservoir when there is an increase in electricity generation and a decrease in demand. When extra power is necessary, it is generated quickly by pushing water through a turbine from an uphill to a downhill direction.