A consortium led by power generation specialists Alstom has been awarded a contract worth over €285 million to install a 1000MW variable speed pumped storage hydro power plant on the Bhagirathi river in India. It will be India’s first pumped storage power plant to use variable speed technology.

Alstom will supply four 250MW variable speed turbine & generator units to direct power to the country’s northern grid.

Pumped storage is an efficient form of storing electricity on a large scale. Variable speed pump turbines, which offer even greater efficiency, are one of the latest innovations in pumped storage technology.

Alstom’s share of the contract is worth around €180 million.