GSI data, NGDR to help makers of pumped storage hydro projects: Official

Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao on Thursday stressed on the role of leading organisations under the mines ministry, including the GSI, to build pumped storage hydro power projects and highways

Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao on Thursday stressed on the role of leading organisations under the mines ministry, including the Geological Survey of India (GSI), to build pumped storage hydro power projects and highways.

Addressing a workshop, the secretary made a special mention of the National Institute of Rock Mechanics (NIRM) for their inputs on assessing the quality of stones being used in the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

GSI data and the recently launched National Geoscience Data Repository (NGDR) portal will help developers of pumped storage hydro power project, he said.

Rao underlined the vast geological, geotechnical data generated by the GSI over its journey of more than 172 years.

"Rao called upon GSI to gear up to the demand from the industry and augment its in-house capacity in Mission IV to cater to desired quality output in a time-bound manner," the mines ministry said in a statement.

Rao said the power ministry has envisioned construction of a large number of pumped storage hydro power projects for augmenting another 47 GW of renewable clean and green energy by 2032 by adopting a new guideline of Detailed Project Report (DPR) formulation, appraisal, and construction by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

He urged the Central Water Commission (CWC), GSI, and CEA to discuss the guidelines and review them if so desired for pumped storage hydro power project development.