Powering Progress: Batteries for Discoms

A Market Motion Report on Accelerating Battery Power Storage in India

India’s energy system is shifting to a brand new part as common electrical energy entry is achieved, financial progress continues to drive electrical energy demand, and over 125 gigawatts (GW) of renewable vitality sources have been deployed. Constructing out enough vitality storage shall be important for India’s grid to efficiently combine rising era from renewable sources and to satisfy future load calls for. Attaining a dependable, resilient, and versatile grid would require a projected deployment of roughly 60 GW of vitality storage, 42 GW (208 GWh) of which shall be provided by battery vitality storage system (BESS) capability by 2030.

The Authorities of India has taken a number of coverage steps laying the groundwork for an enabling setting for vitality storage. These insurance policies have included defining vitality storage techniques, extending key renewable vitality generator advantages to vitality storage property, offering subsidies, supporting market improvement, and setting procurement targets. The Nationwide Framework for Selling Power Storage Techniques, launched by the Ministry of Energy in August 2023, particulars these insurance policies and represents a step in direction of making a complete nationwide roadmap for accelerating storage improvement within the coming years. Establishing the complete worth streams for BESS would require India’s energy system stakeholders to operationalize the nationwide framework — shifting from nationwide tips to accelerated adoption, planning, and integration of BESS tasks throughout the ability system.

The Powering Progress: Batteries for Discoms report explores the market alternative for front-of-meter BESS inside India, with an emphasis on the ability distribution sector and distribution corporations (Discoms). Distribution-located storage (DLS) can contribute to the duties of Discoms by offering advantages when it comes to distribution system capability deferral on the substation degree, significantly in dense city areas experiencing peak load will increase the place there’s restricted house to develop the bodily footprint of the distribution system. DLS can even meet Discoms’ portfolio wants by offering useful resource adequacy worth and minimizing Deviation Settlement Mechanism penalties and voltage help. BESS can meet grid balancing wants by collaborating in wholesale markets corresponding to vitality arbitrage and ancillary providers.

At current, many of those worth streams aren’t totally monetizable. Whereas the long-term worth propositions may very well be favorable to a Discom investing in DLS (as in contrast with different options that will improve general system prices), the lack to precisely assess future income streams is inhibiting undertaking approval. Moreover, inadequate institutional information of the way to assess BESS tasks is slowing down state electrical energy regulatory commissions (SERCs) in approving DLS proposals. To make sure speedy deployment of battery storage to satisfy system wants as prices decline, it’s important that stakeholders, together with Discoms and regulators, are knowledgeable of BESS worth and have methods to successfully procure and make the most of storage applied sciences.

Exhibit 1: Present Financial Worth Hole and Levers to Cut back It for Illustrative 10 MW (20 MWh) BESS

As India shifts from bettering electrical energy entry to bettering high quality of electrical energy service and reliability, new regulatory frameworks and enterprise fashions should be developed and applied to help these wants. Discoms have a novel alternative to play a job in integrating BESS into their portfolios. These actions are the following steps in bettering the situations for deploying progressive expertise options that may assist India grow to be a worldwide chief, efficiently combine renewables to satisfy rising demand, and supply a mannequin of vitality transition to the world.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT | 2023

By Benny Bertagnini, Sonika Choudhary, Elizabeth Healy, Umang Maheshwari, Jagabanta Ningthoujam, Sakhi Shah, Clay Stranger

Initially revealed on RMI.