The 2026 World Hydropower Outlook, released by the International Hydropower Association (IHA), highlights South and Central Asia’s growing role as one of the world’s fastest-growing hydropower regions, driven by rising electricity demand, rapid renewable energy deployment, and increasing recognition of hydropower’s role in energy security and climate adaptation.
South and Central Asia generated 518.3 TWh of electricity from hydropower in 2025 and added 5839 MW of new hydropower capacity, including 3024 MW of pumped storage. Total installed hydropower capacity now stands at 173.3 GW, with pumped storage accounting for 10.7 GW.
India is emerging as a global leader in pumped storage hydropower development. National plans aim to expand pumped storage capacity from approximately 3.5 – 5 GW today to as much as 50 – 57 GW by 2032 and potentially 100 GW by 2035, supported by competitive bidding frameworks, integrated tariff structures, and central government incentives.
Large scale projects are already progressing. In the Brahmaputra basin, development plans include 65 GW of conventional hydropower alongside 11 GW of pumped storage to help balance solar and wind generation, reduce curtailment, and improve system reliability.
Odisha has identified 45 pumped storage sites with combined potential exceeding 34 GW.
The region faces a rapidly evolving energy landscape shaped by growing populations, rising electricity demand and mounting pressures on shared water resources. Hydropower is expected to play a central role in balancing power systems increasingly dominated by variable renewables, while also supporting water management and regional energy co-operation.
Driven by strong progress in countries including India, Pakistan, and Nepal, the regional hydropower pipeline remains one of the world’s largest, with 43 GW currently under construction and another 34 GW in advanced stages of development. This suggests annual additions will continue at similar or higher levels to those recorded in 2025 over the next 5 – 10 years.
At the same time, climate variability is placing increasing strain on infrastructure and electricity systems. Prolonged droughts across several countries in 2025, followed in some cases by severe flooding, exposed vulnerabilities in ageing hydropower assets, and reduced water availability for generation.
In Iran, rainfall fell 40% below the long-term average in 2025, causing reservoir capacity to decline to around 12%. Across Central Asia, precipitation fell to approximately 80% of historical averages, making 2025 one of the driest years in decades. Kyrgyzstan’s Toktogul plant and Tajikistan’s Nurek plant both approached historic low reservoir levels, prompting governments to impose electricity demand restrictions to prevent blackouts.
Governments are increasingly responding through regional cooperation and co-ordinated water management. In November 2025, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan agreed key parameters for joint reservoir management and mutual electricity support, reinforcing cooperation across both energy and agricultural seasons.
Additional agreements were reached between Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan regarding seasonal allocation of the Bahri Tochik reservoir, while Iran, Iraq, and Türkiye co-ordinated water releases to maintain critical supply levels.
Hydropower modernisation is also gaining momentum as governments and utilities seek lower-risk pathways to improve resilience, efficiency and output from existing assets. In Tajikistan, the Qairokkum hydropower plant reopened in 2025 following a major upgrade that increased installed capacity from 126 MW to 174 MW. Across Russia, operators including RusHydro continued equipment modernisation programmes to improve efficiency and extend operational lifetimes.
Pumped storage is also gaining traction in parts of the Middle East where conventional hydropower resources are limited. Israel commissioned the 344 MW Kokhav Hayarden pumped storage plant in 2025, increasing the country’s total pumped storage capacity to 644 MW. The UAE advanced trial operations at the 250 MW Hatta facility, the first pumped storage project in the Arabian Peninsula, while Jordan announced plans to explore a 450 MW pumped storage project.
Despite strong momentum, major barriers remain. Water scarcity and financing constraints continue to reinforce each other by increasing project risks and uncer-tainty. The suspension of World Bank financing for Tajikistan’s Rogun Hydropower Project in 2025, pending resolution of debt concerns and downstream water impacts, highlighted how water stress and geopolitical tensions can delay investment and construction.
Malcolm Turnbull, IHA President, commented: “As electricity systems become more dependent on variable renewables, and geopolitical tensions make reliance on imports more challenging, countries are increasingly recognising the importance of flexibility, long-duration storage and resilient domestic generation. Hydropower and pumped storage are uniquely positioned to provide these services at scale.”
Eddie Rich, IHA CEO, added: “The story of this year’s Outlook is the rapid acceleration of pumped storage globally. Record additions, expanding pipelines and growing policy support all point to a recognition that the clean energy transition cannot succeed without large scale flexibility and storage. At the same time, conventional hydropower remains essential for reliable renewable electricity, water management, and economic development worldwide.”
South and Central Asian Hydropower in numbers:
- Generation by hydropower in 2025: 518.3 TWh.
- Capacity added in 2025 (including pumped storage): 5.839 MW.
- Pumped storage capacity added in 2025: 3024 MW.
- Total installed capacity: 173.3 GW.
- Total pumped storage installed capacity: 10.7 GW.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Spring 2026 issue
The first issue of 2026 is here! The Spring issue starts with a report about price cannibalisation, and the effects on the renewable energy industry before moving on to articles on topics including electrical infrastructure, solar optimisation, and site surveys and mapping, with contributors from industry leaders such as CESI SpA, APEM Group, North Star, and more – don’t miss out!