A 2,000 MW Battery That Costs 2,500 MW: Why an Expert Panel Told the Centre to Drop the Sharavathi Project
A wildlife board committee has recommended against India's largest proposed pumped storage plant — inside a sanctuary holding the world's densest lion-tailed macaque population
What happened
The easy version of the energy transition says clean power and conservation point the same way. This case is the hard version, and it is far more examinable: a storage project essential to absorbing solar and wind, sited inside one of the Western Ghats' most irreplaceable habitats, blocked by the very statutory machinery designed to protect it. Learn the institutional chain here — expert committee, National Board for Wildlife, High Court — because that chain is the answer to almost any 'green versus green' question.
Sharavathi PSP — What It Costs, What It Returns
The Project on the Record
| Installed capacity | 2,000 MW |
| Power drawn to pump uphill | ~2,500 MW |
| Project cost | ~₹10,000 crore |
| Total land required | 142.763 ha |
| — inside the sanctuary | 102 ha |
| — in the eco-sensitive zone | 39.715 ha |
| Lion-tailed macaques in sanctuary | ~700 |
Source: Centre's submission to the Karnataka High Court, 10 July 2026; Karnataka High Court interim order, 13 March 2026
The Sharavathi Valley Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, in Shivamogga (Shimoga) district, and was constituted by combining the erstwhile Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, the Aghanashini Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve and adjoining reserve-forest blocks.
●It shares its south-western boundary with the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, is fed by the Sharavathi river and the Linganamakki reservoir, spans altitudes of roughly 94 to 1,102 metres, and has Jog Falls on its northern boundary.
●Its vegetation ranges from tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen to moist deciduous forest, grassland and savanna; its fauna includes the endangered lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus, a Western Ghats endemic), tiger, leopard, dhole, sloth bear and four deer species.
●It holds about 700 lion-tailed macaques — the largest population in any single protected area.
●The 2,000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project, costing about ₹10,000 crore, would take roughly 142.76 hectares: about 102 hectares inside the sanctuary and 39.72 hectares in the eco-sensitive zone.
●Projects inside a sanctuary require recommendation by the National Board for Wildlife under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, alongside clearance under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Pumped storage is a net consumer of electricity, not a generator — which is why an expert committee could weigh 2,500 MW of pumping demand against 102 hectares of sanctuary forest and conclude the trade was not worth making.
◎ In Simple Words
Think of a pumped storage plant as a giant water battery. When there is extra electricity, it pumps water from a lower lake to a higher one; when electricity is needed, it lets the water fall back down through turbines. Like any battery, it loses energy in the process — here, about 2,500 units go in to get 2,000 units back. The problem is where this one would be built: inside a protected forest in the Western Ghats that is home to around 700 rare lion-tailed macaques. A government expert panel has now said the forest loss is not worth it.
Factual Pointers
Practice · 2 questions
With reference to a pumped storage hydropower project, consider the following statements:
1. It is a net consumer of electricity over a full cycle, since more energy is used to pump water uphill than is recovered on release.
2. It functions as a grid-scale storage technology rather than a primary source of generation.
3. Any such project located inside a wildlife sanctuary requires a recommendation of the National Board for Wildlife.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
The lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) is endemic to which of the following?
Mains Practice Questions
"Not all renewable energy is ecologically benign." Critically examine this proposition with reference to pumped storage hydropower siting in India's biodiversity hotspots. (250 words, GS3)
Discuss the institutional architecture governing the diversion of land inside a wildlife sanctuary in India, and evaluate its effectiveness using a recent example. (250 words, GS3)
Compensatory afforestation is an inadequate remedy for the loss of primary evergreen forest. Examine. (150 words, GS3)
Frequently Asked
· People also askWhat is the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project?
It is a proposed 2,000 MW pumped storage hydropower plant on the Sharavathi river in Karnataka, costing about ₹10,000 crore and promoted by the Karnataka Power Corporation. It requires roughly 142.76 hectares across Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts, largely inside a Western Ghats wildlife sanctuary.
Prelims · GS3Of that land, about 102 hectares fall inside the Sharavathi Valley Lion-Tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary and about 39.72 hectares in its eco-sensitive zone — the reason it needs a National Board for Wildlife recommendation.
SOURCE Karnataka High Court record; LiveLaw
Why did the expert committee recommend against the project?
The three-member panel constituted by the National Board for Wildlife and MoEFCC found the benefits limited against significant environmental consequences: the plant would consume roughly 2,500 MW pumping water uphill to return about 2,000 MW at peak, while causing irreversible loss of sanctuary forest.
GS3 · EnvironmentThe Centre placed this finding before the Karnataka High Court on 10 July 2026 and the panel advised against granting statutory clearances — an unusually explicit negative recommendation on the record.
SOURCE Centre's submission to the Karnataka High Court, 10 July 2026
How does a pumped storage plant work?
It pumps water from a lower reservoir to a higher one using surplus off-peak electricity, then releases it through turbines at peak demand. It is a storage technology, not a generator: round-trip efficiency is below 100 per cent, so it consumes more energy than it returns.
GS3 · InfrastructureIts value lies in time-shifting surplus solar and wind power to the evening peak — which is why India's renewable expansion has driven interest in it despite the inherent energy loss.
SOURCE Central Electricity Authority; expert committee findings
Why is the lion-tailed macaque important to this case?
The Sharavathi sanctuary holds about 700 lion-tailed macaques, the largest population in any protected area. The species (Macaca silenus) is endemic to the Western Ghats, listed as Endangered by the IUCN and placed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
Prelims · GS3It is strictly arboreal and depends on continuous evergreen canopy, so transmission corridors and access roads fragment its habitat far beyond the land actually diverted — making compensatory afforestation an inadequate substitute.
SOURCE IUCN Red List; Karnataka Forest Department
What has the Karnataka High Court ordered?
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru granted an interim stay on 13 March 2026, directing that no work proceed in the forest area. The order came on a public interest litigation filed by three residents — Akhilesh Chipli, Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag and C.B. Manohar Kumar.
GS2 · GS3The stay preserved the subject matter of the dispute while the expert appraisal was pending, which is why the committee's July 2026 finding retained practical effect rather than arriving after irreversible clearing.
SOURCE The Hans India; LiveLaw
Which approvals does a project inside a wildlife sanctuary need?
Diversion of land inside a sanctuary requires a recommendation of the National Board for Wildlife under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, forest clearance under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980, and environmental clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
GS3 · Environmental LawWhere land also falls in a notified eco-sensitive zone — here about 39.72 hectares — the ESZ notification imposes an additional regulatory layer governing permissible activities around the protected area boundary.
SOURCE Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Where is the Sharavathi sanctuary located?
It lies in the Western Ghats in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, formed by merging the Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, the Aghanashini Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve and adjoining reserve forests. It is fed by the Sharavathi river and the Linganamakki reservoir, with Jog Falls on its northern boundary.
Prelims · GeographyIt shares its south-western boundary with the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary and spans altitudes from about 94 to 1,102 metres, holding tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest along with grassland and savanna.
SOURCE Karnataka Forest Department