Pumped Storage Project Laws Diluted Without Assessment
Representational use only.Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
New Delhi: The Centre has diluted environmental laws for the pumped storage industry without assessing the potential social and ecological costs even as several projects have been vehemently opposed.
A pumped storage project is a hydroelectric system that generates electricity during high demand by using water pumped into a reservoir at a higher altitude during low demand. In simpler terms, pumped storage is like a giant battery that stores power to be released during high demand.
The industry’s regulatory regime has been progressively relaxed despite the mismatch between the number of projects approved vis-à-vis targeted capacity addition in the sector increasing.
On May 18, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change exempted most categories of pumped storage projects from the rigours of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) process, mandatory for obtaining environmental clearance.
The ministry’s notification stated: “Pump storage projects, including off-stream closed loop, shall be appraised based on specific terms of reference issued by the Central government for pump storage projects. Pump storage projects which meet all the criteria specified below shall be appraised as B2 category [industries that require no environmental clearance] irrespective of power generation capacity: (a) Projects which do not attract forest clearance and/or wildlife clearance, (b) Projects wherein no new reservoir is created (c) Projects wherein there is no increase in capacity of the existing reservoir and the submergence area of the reservoir.”
Exemption from EIA has been provided merely because pumped storage projects entail lesser environmental impact than hydroelectric power plants.
“ … the environmental impacts of such projects are less than classical hydro projects as well as irrigation and water supply projects and, therefore, there is a need to rationalise environmental clearance process for pump storage projects,” the notification further states.
The exemption comes close on the heels of a set of guidelines, including GST reimbursement, concessional loans, and exemption from free power obligation and the creation of local area developmental funds, issued by the Union ministry of power apparently to develop the fledgling sector.
However, experts argue that data or empirical studies do not back the dilution of the sector’s regulatory regime.
“The Central government is justifying pump storage projects on several grounds like increasing solar and wind power capacity connected to the grid, stabilising the grid, storing power to make it available during non-solar and non-wind power hours and for peaking power and reactive power,” Himanshu Thakkar, of South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People, tells Newsclick.
“The ministry has assumed, rather simplistically, that these projects are environment friendly. No studies were conducted to arrive at this sweeping conclusion,” he adds.
According to Thakkar, whenever a major infrastructure project, like a pumped storage project, is taken up, it “will have a significant social and environmental impact. Unfounded claims about the ecologically friendly nature of hydropower projects were also made. But those claims were wrong”.
In fact, the ministry’s Expert Appraisal Committee, which assesses river valley and hydropower projects, has been recommending environment clearance at random for pumped storage projects.
The September 2022 draft National Electricity Plan envisages a capacity addition of 18.8 gigawatts (GW) from renewable energy sources, including pumped storage plants, and solar, wind and biomass plants from 2022 to 2027.
The plan also envisages a capacity addition of 40.632 GW from conventional sources like coal, gas and nuclear during this period.
The total installed capacity of pumped storage projects, as per this policy document, was 4.75 GW as of March 2022. The capacity addition plan for the pumped storage sector is 2.06 GW for 2022-27 and 12.02 GW for 2027-32.
However, as per the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) data, the countrywide total installed capacity of 30 pumped storage projects under construction added to the current capacity of six operational projects is much higher at 34.16 GW.
In March 2019, the Centre declared that large hydropower projects, including pumped storage projects with a capacity above 25 megawatts (MW), would be considered renewable energy sources. In 2021, interstate transmission system charges (excluding losses) for electricity supplied by hydro-powered pumped storage projects commissioned till June 2025 were further waived.
Were the relaxations provided to facilitate big corporate houses that have made a beeline to the industry? Exemption from EIA implies no public consultation on ecology in establishing pumped storage projects.
On several occasions, local communities in areas where certain projects have been proposed opposed them over land and environmental issues.
The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government has faced opposition from local communities and political parties in the Kurnool district over land acquired for an integrated renewable project, including a pumped storage plant, in Pinnapuram.
In July 2022, state CPI (M) leaders were arrested on their way to meet the project-affected families of Pinnapuram. Party members alleged that the rights of farming and forest-dependent communities were compromised during land acquisition.
“Compensation was not evenly disbursed to hundreds of project-affected families after nearly 2,500 hectares were acquired. Several families got compensation lower than the entitled amount,” Kurnool CPI (M) leader K Prabhakar Reddy tells Newsclick.
Besides, around 800 hectares of forestland on which local communities were dependent for livelihood for several generations was also “acquired without settling the rights of traditional dwellers”, he adds.
Notwithstanding complaints that the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act) were violated in the execution of the project, Reddy inaugurated the project in May 2022.
In West Bengal’s Purulia district, forest rights of traditional dwellers were allegedly violated when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government cleared a 1,000 MW pumped storage project in Baghmundi block.
The Turga Pumped Storage Project is being developed by the West Bengal State Electricity Development Corporation in Ajodhya Hills, home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. The hills are also a part of the Dalma Elephant Corridor, used by pachyderms since immemorial.
In July 2019, a Calcutta High Court Bench quashed all Gram Sabha resolutions about the project based on a writ petition by affected communities. Approvals granted to the project by the Centre and the state were also quashed. The single-Judge Bench stayed the project which the state government challenged before a Division Bench. Final forest clearance for the project was awaited as of October 2022, as per the CEA data.
The local communities are disappointed because large swathes of land were submerged and thousands of trees felled many years ago for another 900 MW pumped storage project in Baghmundi block but the number of jobs and livelihood promised by the then-CPI (M) government under Buddhadeb Bhattacharya never materialised.
In the recent past, the Telangana government has objected to numerous pumped storage projects planned by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on grounds of equitable water sharing between the two states.
In October 2021, Telangana’s irrigation department wrote to the Krishna River Management Board to restrain Andhra Pradesh from going ahead with the 500 MW Chitravathi pumped storage project in Ananthapuram district. The state-owned enterprise New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited is executing the project.
Notably, the Andhra Pradesh government has undertaken a couple of mega irrigation and drinking water supply projects in which excess water of Krishna river will be drawn through canals from the Srisailam Reservoir. The reservoir is spread over Nagarkurnool and Nandyal districts, respectively, across the inter-state boundaries of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The Telangana irrigation department wrote that the proposed pumped storage project, which will utilise water diverted from the reservoir in the Krishna Basin by depriving in-basin needs, violated provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, because it lacked the Board’s consent.
The writer is an independent journalist.
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Sheria za Mradi wa Kuhifadhi Pumped Zimeondolewa Bila Tathmini: Matumizi ya Uwakilishi tu.Picha: Wikimedia Commons New Delhi: Kituo cha Sheria ya Mazingira kwa Viwanda vya Kuhifadhi Pumped bila kutathmini gharama za uwezekano wa kijamii na ikolojia hata kama miradi kadhaa imepingwa sana. Pumped Storage ni mfumo wa umeme wa maji ambao hutengeneza umeme wakati wa mahitaji ya juu kwa kutumia maji yaliyopigwa kwenye hifadhi ya maji kwenye urefu wa juu wakati wa mahitaji ya chini. Kwa maneno rahisi, kuhifadhi pampu ni kama betri kubwa ambayo huhifadhi nguvu ambayo hutolewa wakati wa mahitaji ya juu. Mfumo wa udhibiti wa sekta hiyo umepunguzwa hatua kwa hatua licha ya kutofautiana kati ya idadi ya miradi iliyokubaliwa dhidi ya kuongezeka kwa uwezo wa lengo katika sekta hiyo. Mnamo Mei 18, Wizara ya Mazingira, Misitu na Mabadiliko ya Hali ya Hewa iliondoa makundi mengi ya miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu kutoka kwa ukali wa mchakato wa tathmini ya athari za mazingira (EIA), ambayo ni lazima kupata ruhusa ya mazingira. Taarifa ya wizara ilisema: "Mipango ya kuhifadhi pampu, ikiwa ni pamoja na mzunguko uliofungwa wa nje ya mto, itathaminiwa kulingana na masharti maalum ya kumbukumbu iliyotolewa na serikali kuu kwa miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu. Mradi wa kuhifadhi pampu ambao unakidhi vigezo vyote vilivyoainishwa hapa chini utaathiriwa kama jamii ya B2 [viwanda ambavyo havihitaji idhini ya mazingira] bila kujali uwezo wa uzalishaji wa umeme: miradi ambayo haivutii uondoaji wa misitu na (au) uondoaji wa wanyama wa porini, miradi ambayo haijumuishi uundaji wa hifadhi mpya, miradi ambayo haijumuishi ongezeko la uwezo wa hifadhi iliyopo na eneo la kuzama kwa hifadhi. <unk>... athari za mazingira za miradi kama hiyo ni ndogo kuliko miradi ya kawaida ya maji na vile vile miradi ya umwagiliaji na usambazaji wa maji na, kwa hivyo, kuna haja ya kurahisisha mchakato wa idhini ya mazingira kwa miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu, <unk> taarifa hiyo inaendelea kusema. Msaada huo unakuja baada ya seti ya miongozo, ikiwa ni pamoja na malipo ya GST, mikopo ya upendeleo, na msamaha kutoka kwa wajibu wa umeme wa bure na uundaji wa fedha za maendeleo ya eneo la ndani, iliyotolewa na Wizara ya Nishati ya Umoja wa Mataifa, inaonekana kuendeleza sekta ya umeme. Hata hivyo, wataalamu wanasema kwamba data au masomo ya empirical si nyuma ya dilution ya sekta ya mfumo wa udhibiti. "Serikali ya India inaweka msingi wa miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu kwa misingi kadhaa kama vile kuongeza uwezo wa nishati ya jua na upepo iliyounganishwa na gridi, kudumisha gridi, kuhifadhi nguvu ili kuifanya iwepo wakati wa masaa yasiyo ya nishati ya jua na isiyo ya upepo na kwa nguvu ya kilele na nguvu ya athari, ""Himanshu Thakkar, wa Mtandao wa Asia Kusini wa Mabwawa, Mito na Watu, anaambia NewsClique." <unk> Wizara imedhani, kwa urahisi, kwamba miradi hii ni kirafiki na mazingira. Hakuna masomo yaliyofanywa ili kufikia hitimisho hili kubwa, <unk> anaongeza. Kulingana na Thakkar, wakati wowote mradi mkubwa wa miundombinu, kama mradi wa kuhifadhi pampu, unachukuliwa, "itakuwa na athari kubwa ya kijamii na mazingira". Madai yasiyo na msingi kuhusu asili ya kirafiki ya mazingira ya miradi ya umeme wa maji pia yalifanywa. Lakini madai hayo yalikuwa ya makosa. "Kulingana na ripoti ya Wizara ya Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti wa Utafiti.""" Mpango wa umeme wa kitaifa wa Septemba 2022 unafikiria kuongeza uwezo wa 18.8 gigawatt (GW) kutoka vyanzo vya nishati mbadala, pamoja na mitambo ya kuhifadhi pampu, na mitambo ya jua, upepo na biomass kutoka 2022 hadi 2027. Mpango huo pia unatarajia kuongeza uwezo wa 40.632 GW kutoka vyanzo vya kawaida kama makaa ya mawe, gesi na nyuklia katika kipindi hiki. Kiasi cha jumla cha vifaa vya kuhifadhi pampu, kulingana na hati hii ya sera, kilikuwa 4.75GW mnamo Machi 2022. Mpango wa kuongeza uwezo wa sekta ya kuhifadhi pampu ni 2.06 GW kwa 2022-27 na 12.02 GW kwa 2027-32. Kwa mujibu wa taarifa ya Mamlaka ya umeme ya Kati (CEA), jumla ya uwezo wa kuunganishwa wa miradi 30 ya kuhifadhi bomba inayojengwa nchini kote, pamoja na uwezo wa sasa wa miradi sita inayofanya kazi, ni kubwa zaidi kwa 34.16 GW. Mnamo Machi 2019, Serikali ya India ilitangaza kuwa miradi mikubwa ya umeme wa maji, ikiwa ni pamoja na miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu yenye uwezo wa juu wa megawatts 25, itachukuliwa kuwa vyanzo vya nishati mbadala. Katika 2021, malipo ya mfumo wa usafirishaji wa kati ya majimbo (bila hasara) kwa umeme uliotolewa na miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu ya umeme iliyotengenezwa hadi Juni 2025 ilifutwa zaidi. Je, mapumziko hayo yalitolewa ili kuwezesha mashirika makubwa ambayo yameingia moja kwa moja katika sekta hiyo? Msaada kutoka kwa EIA ina maana hakuna mashauriano ya umma juu ya ikolojia katika kuanzisha miradi ya kuhifadhi pampu. Katika hafla kadhaa, jamii za mitaa katika maeneo ambapo miradi fulani imependekezwa ilipinga juu ya masuala ya ardhi na mazingira. Serikali ya Andhra Pradesh inayoongozwa na Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy imekabiliwa na upinzani kutoka kwa jamii za mitaa na vyama vya kisiasa katika wilaya ya Kurnool juu ya ardhi iliyopatikana kwa mradi wa mbadala wa pamoja, pamoja na kiwanda cha kuhifadhi pampu, huko Pinnapuram. Mwezi Julai, viongozi wa chama cha CPI (M) walifungwa wakiwa njiani kwenda kukutana na familia za watu walioathiriwa na mradi wa Pinnapuram. Washiriki wa chama walidai kwamba haki za wakulima na jamii zinazotegemea misitu zilitiliwa shaka wakati wa ununuzi wa ardhi. "Mali ya fidia haikupelekwa kwa usawa kwa mamia ya familia zilizoathiriwa na mradi huo baada ya karibu hekta 2,500 kupatikana.""" Familia kadhaa zilipata fidia chini ya kiasi kinachostahili, kiongozi wa Kurnool CPI (M) K Prabhakar Reddy anaambia Newsclick. "Aidha, karibu hekta 800 za misitu ambayo jamii za mitaa zilikuwa zinategemea kwa ajili ya maisha kwa vizazi kadhaa pia zilipatikana bila kusuluhisha haki za wakazi wa jadi, ""aliongeza." "Kupitia mashtaka ya ""Haki ya fidia ya haki na uwazi katika upatikanaji wa ardhi, ukarabati na makazi ya watu,"" Sheria ya 2013 ya LARR na Sheria ya 2006 ya Wakazi wa Msitu wa jadi na Wenyeji wengine wa Msitu (Kutambua Haki za Msitu), Reddy alitangaza mradi huo mnamo Mei 2022." Katika wilaya ya Purulia, Bengal Magharibi, haki za misitu za wakazi wa jadi zilidaiwa kuvunjwa wakati serikali ya Trinamool Congress iliyoongozwa na Mamata Banerjee ilipofungua mradi wa kuhifadhi umeme wa 1,000 MW katika kitongoji cha Baghmundi. Mradi wa kuhifadhi umeme wa Turga unabuniwa na Shirika la Maendeleo ya Umeme la Jimbo la Bengal Magharibi katika Milima ya Ajodhya, nyumbani kwa mimea na wanyama mbalimbali. Milima hiyo pia ni sehemu ya Mfereji wa Tembo wa Dalma, unaotumiwa na tembo wenye ngozi ndefu tangu nyakati za kale. Mnamo Julai 2019, Baraza la Mahakama Kuu ya Calcutta lilikataa azimio lote la Gram Sabha kuhusu mradi huo kulingana na ombi la writ la jamii zilizoathiriwa. Idhini zilizopewa mradi huo na Kituo na jimbo pia ziliondolewa. Benchi ya hakimu mmoja ilisimamisha mradi huo ambao serikali ya jimbo ilipinga mbele ya Benchi ya Idara. Uhalali wa mwisho wa msitu kwa mradi huo unatarajiwa kufikia Oktoba 2022, kulingana na data ya CEA. "Watu wa eneo hilo wamevunjika moyo kwa sababu maeneo makubwa ya ardhi yalipigwa na maji na maelfu ya miti ilipigwa miaka mingi iliyopita kwa ajili ya mradi mwingine wa kuhifadhi umeme wa 900 MW katika eneo la Baghmundi, lakini idadi ya kazi na maisha yaliyoahidiwa na serikali ya CPI (M) ya wakati huo chini ya uongozi wa Buddhadeb Bhattacharya haikufanyika.""" Serikali ya Telangana imepinga mipango ya kuhifadhi maji ya pampu iliyopangwa na Andhra Pradesh kwa sababu ya kugawana maji kwa usawa kati ya majimbo mawili. Idara ya Utiririshaji ya Telangana iliandikia Bodi ya Usimamizi wa Mto Krishna mnamo Oktoba 2021 ili kuzuia Andhra Pradesh kuendelea na mradi wa kuhifadhi maji wa 500MW wa Chitravathi katika wilaya ya Ananthapuram. Kampuni ya serikali ya New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited inaendesha mradi huo. Serikali ya Andhra Pradesh imefanya miradi miwili ya umwagiliaji maji na maji ya kunywa, ambayo maji ya ziada ya Mto Krishna yatatolewa kupitia mifereji kutoka kwa Hifadhi ya Srisailam. Hifadhi hiyo imeenea katika wilaya za Nagarkurnool na Nandyal, mtiririko huo, katika mipaka ya kati ya jimbo la Telangana na Andhra Pradesh. Idara ya umwagiliaji maji ya Telangana iliandika kwamba mradi uliopendekezwa wa kuhifadhi maji, ambao utatumia maji yaliyopitishwa kutoka kwa hifadhi ya Krishna kwa kuondoa mahitaji ya ndani ya bonde, ulivunja masharti ya Sheria ya Utaratibu wa Andhra Pradesh ya 2014, kwa sababu haikuwa na idhini ya Bodi. Mwandishi ni mwandishi wa habari huru. Kupata ripoti za hivi karibuni na uchambuzi na mtazamo wa watu juu ya maandamano, harakati na kina video za uchambuzi, majadiliano ya mambo ya sasa katika programu yako ya Telegram. Kujiunga na NewsClick ya Telegram channel & kupata Real-Time updates juu ya hadithi, kama wao kupata kuchapishwa kwenye tovuti yetu.