7 hours ago
- Business
- United News of India
Telangana: Singareni to set up Rs 3,000 cr pumped storage power plant at Medipalli mine
Hyderabad, June 21 (UNI) As part of its business expansion strategy, State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), which has already established thermal and solar power plants, is now venturing into an innovative new power generation initiative.
Based on the directives issued by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, Singareni has decided to set up a pumped storage power plant (PSP) at the site of the closed Medipalli Opencast Mine in Ramagundam-1 area, utilising the existing mine water sump, the Mining company said in a release here on Saturday.
Chairman and Managing Director N. Balram said that this is the first of its kind project in Telangana, and expressed confidence that Singareni will successfully implement this pilot initiative.
He stated that after completing preliminary studies, SCCL has now entrusted WAPCOS Limited—a government agency—with the task of preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) by officially issuing a Letter of Award.
He said that the Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Energy, Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, had personally visited the Medipalli mine and the proposed site, and the state government has responded positively to the plan.
The project is estimated to cost around Rs 3,000 crore.
However, the plant is expected to generate a strong financial return for Singareni with a projected lifespan of 40 years at a capacity of 500 MW.
Once the DPR is finalised by WAPCOS, tenders for construction are expected to be floated, he said.
WAPCOS Limited, entrusted by Singareni, will carry out a comprehensive study for constructing the 500 MW pumped storage project using the Medipalli mine water sump.
The DPR will include geological, geotechnical, hydrological, civil design, power generation capacity, mechanical and electrical designs, environmental and safety aspects. It will also provide estimates of construction time, total costs, and the market potential for the power produced by the plant.
This kind of plant operates similarly to a hydroelectric project.
In conventional hydro projects, electricity is generated using the natural flow of water turning turbines.
In contrast, pumped storage plants work by pumping water to a higher elevation using solar power during the day, and releasing it through turbines at night to generate electricity.
Currently, the Medipalli Opencast mine has a large water sump about 157 meters deep, which holds a substantial volume of water year-round.
The proposed project will include the construction of another surface reservoir of similar capacity.
During the day, water from the mine sump will be pumped into this surface reservoir using solar energy.
At night, the water will be released back down through pipes, spinning turbines to generate power. Because water is pumped up and then used again for generation, this method is called a Pumped Storage Project (PSP).
Due to the availability of both the deep water sump and suitable surface land for a reservoir at the Medipalli mine, SCCL has identified it as the optimal site for this project.
The surface reservoir is expected to be around 2,350 meters in length and 23 meters in depth, with a total water storage capacity of 9.64 million cubic meters.
Out of this, about 8 million cubic meters will be used for power generation through pumping.
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