India joins Battery Energy Storage Systems Consortium led by GLC

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India joins Battery Energy Storage Systems Consortium led by GLC

India joins Battery Energy Storage Systems Consortium led by GLC

Industry News
Dec 06,23

In a collaborative push, India aligns itself with pioneering nations committed to securing 5 GW of BESS commitments by the end of 2024.

India joins Battery Energy Storage Systems Consortium led by GLC

India officially joined the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium, an initiative spearheaded by The Global Leadership Council (GLC) of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP).

In a collaborative push, India aligns itself with pioneering nations committed to securing 5 GW of BESS commitments by the end of 2024.

In a significant move last September, the government endorsed viability gap funding for BESS development. The scheme aims to facilitate the establishment of 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31, providing financial assistance of up to 40% of the capital cost through budgetary support in the form of VGF.

Saurabh Kumar, Vice President (India) at GEAPP, emphasised the critical role of BESS expansion in reducing the high costs associated with intermittency. This, in turn, would accelerate the integration of renewable energy (RE), fast-track innovative regulations, unlock value streams on batteries, and provide essential balancing support to the grid. Such developments are deemed crucial for meeting the demand for RE, essential for a net-zero future.

According to the "Powering Progress: Batteries for Discoms - A Market Action Report on Accelerating Battery Energy Storage in India," approximately 42 GW (208 GWh) of BESS would be necessary to integrate 392 GW of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) - comprising 100 GW of wind and 292 GW of solar - by 2030. The report also underscores that the increasing integration of VRE resources, particularly solar and wind, is a significant driver of grid storage adoption.

During the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), GEAPP announced the expansion of the BESS project in India, aiming to achieve the target of 1 GW for distribution companies (discoms) under BESS by 2026.

The first BESS project was awarded to IndiGrid, a power sector infrastructure investment trust, tasked with designing, supplying, testing, installing, commissioning, operating, and maintaining a 20 MW/40 MWh facility in Delhi.

GEAPP, an alliance of philanthropy, governments, technology, policy, and financing partners, intends to provide concessional debt financing for 70% of the total capital investment and technical assistance for the project. The organisation will continue working on a scale-up plan with discoms to achieve the target of 200 MW by offering technical assistance and concessional funding.

Other first-mover countries committed to the BESS Consortium include Barbados, Belize, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Togo, with Indonesia expressing strong interest. To meet the estimated 400 GW of renewable energy needed to alleviate energy poverty by 2030 and save a gigaton of carbon dioxide, a development of 90 GW of storage capacity is essential.

The initial 5 GW goal set by the BESS Consortium will serve as a roadmap for achieving the remaining capacity by 2030.

Source: Business Standard