Mandatory storage for renewable energy projects likely
renewable energy projects with more than 5 megawatt (MW) capacity to install energy storage systems (ESS). In its recently released national framework for promoting energy storage systems, the ministry of power said such ESS capacity may be considered during the bidding stage itself and can either be collated with the renewable energy project or integrated with any other storage located elsewhere.
“In order to ensure adequate storage capacity to supply reliable power, new RE (renewable energy) projects (excluding hydro projects) with an installed capacity of over 5MW or as specified by the central government may be mandated to install ESS (of at least 1-hour storage) for minimum 5% of the RE capacity," it said. The ministry said more steps are required to be taken at the policy and regulatory levels for ensuring an enabling ecosystem for storage systems, which are either under active consideration or may be considered later.
The proposal gains significance as it would bring under its ambit almost all utility-scale green energy projects given that the capacity bid out is mostly much higher than 5MW. The ministry also suggested that hydro projects be encouraged to have minimum pondage (small water storage) capacity to manage variability and peak demand.
In renewable energy projects operating in off-grid mode, it said the storage capacity could be enhanced keeping in view the seasonal variation of renewable energy and demand. The framework also said that in order to promote the development of energy storage systems, connectivity to the nearest inter-state transmission system (ISTS) should be granted on a priority.
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