Chandigarh, Dec. 3 -- The Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has proposed a 1,500 megawatt (MW) pumped storage project as an extension of Bhakra Dam at Dobar village, 5 km upstream from the existing dam site. The Rs.6,500-crore project is to be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode on build-own-operate basis. The BBMB has conducted surveys and identified four such sites over the dam reservoir. Notably, surveys were conducted after the Centre asked the managements of the existing hydel projects to explore options for extensions. "In the surveys, we have found that four such projects of 4,400 MW capacity can be constructed around the Gobind Sagar Lake," said a superintending engineer level officer of the board posted at the dam. At present, the generating capacity of Bhakra Dam is 1,415 MW. Similarly, the power generation at Pong Dam reservoir could be extended by 8,700 MW. The superintending engineer added that a consultant would be hired for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) related to the Dobar village project for which the tenders would be shortly floated. The BBMB is engaged in regulation of the water and power supply from the existing Bhakra-Nangal and Beas projects, built over Sutlej and Beas rivers, to Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh. The project's extension is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement at the UN Climate Summit COP 26 in Glasgow on November 1, 2021, that India would achieve net zero emission by 2070. The Union government, during COP-27 held in November 2022, had committed to achieving the 50% of the energy requirement from renewable energy along with 500GW non-fossil energy capacity by 2030. Renewable energy sources are vital for combating climate change and limiting its devastating effects. According to BBMB top officials, the board can play a game changer's role. The BBMB has identified eight sites for potential pumped storage points with a calculated capacity of 13,000 MW after conducting a feasibility study. For further preparation of DPR and checking the viability of these projects, the Himachal Pradesh government has been asked to allocate the identified sites to the BBMB. The sites over Bhakra Dam reservoir are at Lehri in Bilaspur district, Dobar in Una district and Majra and Chakmoh in Hamirpur district. The sites over Pong Dam reservoir are in Garial, Balwal Chaplah and Dodrah in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. In its recent board meeting, the BBMB had approved preparation of DPR for all the eight pumped storage project sites identified by the BBMB on the periphery of Bhakra and Pong Dam reservoirs. Pumped storage hydropower is a form of clean energy, often referred to as a "water battery" as it stores surplus energy during periods of low demand and releases it when demand peaks. During off-peak hours, water is pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper one when the electricity tariff is low. When demand and tariff rates rise, the stored water is released back to the lower reservoir, driving turbines to generate power. The energy storage capacity of a pumped hydro facility depends on the size of its two reservoirs, while its power output is determined by the capacity of the turbines....