The Ministry of Power has mandated that all renewable energy implementing agencies (REIAs) and State utilities must incorporate a minimum of two-hour co-located energy storage systems (ESS), equivalent to 10% of the installed solar project capacity, in future solar tenders. The ministry said this requirement will help mitigate intermittency issues and provide critical support during peak demand periods. It added that distribution licensees could also consider mandating two-hour storage with rooftop solar installations.
With implementation of the proposed storage under this clause, the government expects around 14 GW/28 GWh of storage to be installed by 2030.
India targets non-fossil fuel capacity of 500 GW by 2030. To achieve this goal, the capacity of variable renewable energy sources such as solar and wind needs to be enhanced significantly. This can pose significant challenges to grid stability, as these variable RE sources are intermittent and variable in nature and may not be available for generation during periods of low RE or high demand.
In this context, energy storage systems (ESS) would be essential to ensure grid stability, reliability, and optimal energy utilization. ESS can help address the intermittency challenges of RE projects, by storing excess energy for use during low RE hours, thus ensuring a more reliable and stable grid.
The current installed capacity of ESS as on Dec. 31,2024 is 4.86 GW, which includes 4.75 GW of pumped storage (PSP) and 0.11 GW of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. As per the National Electricity Plan published by the Central Electricity Authority, in order to integrate the 364 GW of solar and 121 GW of wind capacity by 2031-32, India would require 73.93 GW/411.4 GWh of storage capacity (26.69 GW/175.18 GWh from PSP and 47.24 GW/236.22 GWh from BESS).
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