Govt discusses faster BESS rollout, transmission push for RE integration

Ministries review energy storage deployment, transmission projects and time-of-day tariffs to strengthen renewable energy integration and grid stability

Amid concerns over lagging transmission infrastructure for renewable energy (RE) integration and the need for faster deployment of energy storage systems, the ministries of power, new and renewable energy, and heavy industries convened a meeting on Wednesday to address these issues.

 

For reliable integration of RE into the grid, the three ministries discussed faster implementation of energy storage, particularly battery energy storage systems (BESS). “The meeting focused on taking decisive steps towards maximising renewable energy utilisation and building a smarter, greener power ecosystem,” Power Minister Manohar Lal said in a social media post.

 

Experts believe the deployment of energy storage systems in the country must be ramped up to keep pace with renewable energy capacity addition, helping the grid efficiently absorb and manage the rising RE share. Energy storage is also required to reduce volatility in spot power tariffs and stabilise power supply throughout the day. High power demand during the evening, along with limited storage, has resulted in prices increasing to as high as ₹20 per unit recently.

   

Currently, India has an installed BESS capacity of around 0.27 gigawatt (GW). The Central Electricity Authority projects total energy storage capacity to reach 174 GW/888 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2035-36, including 80 GW/321 GWh of BESS and 94 GW/567 GWh of pumped hydro storage.

 

During the meeting, a detailed discussion was also held on expediting critical transmission projects to minimise renewable energy curtailment and strengthen grid connectivity across the country.

 

India had to curtail a massive 31 GW of renewable energy capacity in the January-March quarter owing to a lack of transmission capacity and system flexibility, according to a recent report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

 

The discussion also centred around accelerating the implementation of time-of-day (ToD) tariffs. This is aimed at encouraging a shift in energy demand towards solar hours and optimising renewable energy consumption.