SECI Plans To Add 500 MW Solar Thermal Capacity By FY25, Says Chairman

SECI Plans To Add 500 MW Solar Thermal Capacity By FY25 Says Chairman

In a recent event organized by the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) in Delhi various dignitaries aimed to showcase Indian innovations to the international battery and energy storage community. The event also offered to facilitate partnerships for global companies entering India’s burgeoning battery market.

R P Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) at the India Energy Storage Week (IESW) said, “SECI is expected to float a tender for 500 megawatts (MW) of solar thermal capacity by the end of FY25. This will be the first time in India that such a tender would be floated on this scale. The projects under the 500 MW tender will have advanced technology where steam would be generated through heat, and it would also help in running turbines.”

“We require energy round the clock (RTC) and we let the developer find its own solution. What is the kind of solar component he wants to have, the wind component which he wants to have, and the energy storage component which he wants to have. Let them design it and offer the round-the-clock energy to us.”, R P Gupta further added.

Emphasizing on the waiver of transmission level for charging and discharging, Jishnu Barua, Chairperson, CERC said, “A lot of new developments have taken place and prices are bound to come down. Energy Storage has a big role in stabilizing the grid, enhancing reliability, and optimizing the use of RE. From energy access and availability, the Indian electric sector is now focusing on stabilizing it. “

Rahul Walawalkar, President and Managing Director (MD), of CES India and President, of India Energy Storage Alliance said, “Safety is a significant area where we need to deploy new measures and technologies. I urge the industry to not compromise on safety. As India is moving towards a big vision to scale up its GWh capacity, we cannot afford any mistakes. We have to grow economically, environmentally, and safely, moving away from the low-pricing model.”

Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson CEA, Ministry of Power said, “Grid is facing the challenge on the ops side of it, regulations are an area of challenge. In the last 14-15 months 47 disturbances affected 1000 MW and is going as high as 3,700 MW. We need to keep on adding RE and ensure grid disturbance doesn’t occur. In India, peak load experience is during the day hours, 2-3 pm. We need to focus on measures to improve the healthiness of the grid during evening hours and therein storage will play a big role in the evening hours.”

BatX Energies announced that it opened its battery recycling and materials extraction facility, HUB-1. The new HUB-1 facility is designed to extract 2.5 thousand metric tons of battery materials annually, encompassing all battery chemistries to drive the global energy transition to a sustainable and circular economy pathway. This plant is fully integrated with an advanced material science research lab (funded by the Ministry of Heavy Industries), a commercial-scale battery refurbishing setup (10 MW), and a patented, indigenously designed material extraction plant.

Lohum a battery material manufacturing company specializing in Lithium-Ion Battery recycling is also announced to enter next-gen ‘Manganese-rich’ Lithium-ion battery technology manufacturing, supported by an R&D grant from India’s Ministry of Mines. Whereas, Bharat Cell by Khusmanda Power announced its entrance to BSES space with the announcement for setting up of a 2 GWh BSES system manufacturing facility at IESW 2024.