How do you see the role of battery storage evolving in India’s solar PV market over the next five years?

The Ministry of Power (MoP) shared an advisory on co-locating energy storage with solar to enhance grid reliability. The advisory to REIAs and state Utilities is to incorporate a minimum of 2 hours ESS, equivalent to 10% of installed solar capacity. The distribution company can also 2 hours of storage with roof top solar plant. The potential of energy storage in this area is estimated as 14 GW/28 GWh till 2030. This mandate is encouraging as it makes solar more responsible and in turn accelerate energy storage deployment in India. Till date around 10.62GW Solar coupled with 12.52GWh BESS capacity has been tendered in India with 0.2GW Solar coupled with 0.2 GWH BESS commissioned and 4.6GW Solar coupled with 5.7 GWh BESS in various stages of Constuction. The tariffs found in these tenders has also been attractive. This sector will only grow in the coming years, to successfully integrate 292GW of solar PV capacity into the grid by 2031-32.

What are the key challenges in integrating battery energy storage with solar power projects in India?

One of the challenges which is slowly becoming a concern is the long gestation period between a tender being awarded to that getting an off taker. For example SECI’s 1200 GW Solar + 1200 MWh BESS with a tariff of INR 3.41/kWh finally found a buyer after 8 months of the project being awarded. The falling cost of BESS is making DISCOMs wait for the next lower L1 is forthcoming bids before committing for a capacity. This delay will further delay the commissioning of such projects which will be unable to cater the problem statement that the project was conceptualized on.

How do policy incentives and regulatory frameworks impact the adoption of solar-plus-storage solutions in India?

The MoP advisory will accelerate solar + BESS tenders in India. With ISTS waivers in place such projects this will give the sector a big boost. more over rooftop solar which is being promoted under the PM Surya Ghar scheme is expected to further benefit from this advisory.

What advancements in battery technology are making solar storage more viable for utility-scale and C&I projects?

Apart from cost drop of BESS, multiple technological improvements and innovations is helping the sector grow. The key KPIs for Batteries are improving, the cell size itself is improving, bigger cell sizes will mean lesser cells required in the same containers/racks. cycle life for batteries is improving , over the last two years cycle life has increased to 10,000 from 5,000 cycles. That apart the depth of discharge quotient is also improving optimizing sizing requirements.

How does battery storage improve grid stability and support India’s growing renewable energy capacity?

India’s challenge in meeting increasing peak demand is seen to be mitigated by solar + BESS, energy arbitrage is seen as a major use case of all tenders floated along with Diesel Generator optimization. Using solar to charge the batteries dring the day low demand periods and discharging the ESS during evening hors for 2-4 hours is seen as the major requirement for such projects.