India eyes 50-55 GW hydro pump storage by 2031, 100 GW nuclear by 2047: CEA, ETEnergyworld

New Delhi: India is set to build 50 to 55 gigawatt (GW) of hydro pump storage capacity over the next six to seven years and scale up nuclear power capacity to 100 GW by 2047 as part of its energy transition, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) Chairperson Ghanshyam Prasad said.

“In the last three years, the kind of policy changes that have happened in this particular segment, we have seen a lot of traction coming from the private sector, particularly in the hydro and hydro pump storage,” Prasad said at the sidelines of an industry event. He added that support from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, CWC, GSI and CSMRS has accelerated clearances, while closed loop hydro pump storage projects have been exempted from certain approvals, giving further momentum.

He said rotating mass technologies such as hydro and nuclear are critical to maintain grid stability as India raises the share of renewables in its electricity mix. “Hydro pump storage definitely is going to play a good role. But at the same time, we must also try to focus on nuclear as well,” Prasad noted.

On nuclear power, he said capacity expansion from 8.8 GW at present to 100 GW by 2047 will be driven by a mix of large 700 MW reactors, new technologies, and small modular reactors. “The target definitely has been set of 100 gigawatt by 2047, but how to reach that is, we have already made one plan, which has, of course, not been made as public as of now,” he said, adding that the roadmap has been prepared in consultation with CPSUs including NPCIL and NTPC, along with private sector players.

Prasad said thorium-based reactors, advanced water reactors, and modular technologies will be central to the expansion. He emphasised that policy, regulatory and legislative changes are being worked on to enable the nuclear scale-up. “From somewhere around 8.8 gigawatt to going up to 100 gigawatt is not a small task. It’s a good task, and where a number of things will be involved,” he said.

• Published On Sep 11, 2025 at 08:32 AM IST

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