India Will Need 60 GW Of Storage By 2030, Says Research Report

Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and RMI released a report on battery storage systems, defining the role of discoms in accelerating battery energy storage in India. The report titled ‘Powering Progress: Batteries for Discoms, A Market Action Report evaluated the accelerating battery energy storage ecosystem in India. It attempted to provide an action plan through the  framework to help discoms to navigate the evolving energy paradigm in India. 

It found that the leading renewable rich Indian states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are already experiencing 20% or more of annual VRE (Variable Renewable Energy) generation in their portfolios. By 2030, it anticipated that many more states are expected to have increasing shares of VRE in their portfolios. For example, the state of Uttar Pradesh has set a clean energy goal of 22 GW of solar power by 2026–27. Delhi has a draft solar policy considering a mandate of 6 GW of solar resources by 2025.

The report also shared details on the status of PSP (Pumped hydro storage project) and BESS (Battery energy storage system) technologies that are used in enhancing grid reliability and performance. It indicated that the annual electricity demand is in million units (MU or GWh) and the percentage of that energy demand can be met by renewable energy generating resources annually. 

The report found that based on the projections, Indian states are estimated to have installed capacities of 19 GW (128 GWh) of PSP. It elaborated that approximately 42 GW (208 GWh) of BESS would be required to integrate 392 GW of VRE (100 GW of wind and 292 GW of solar) by 2030. It found that integrating increasing amounts of VRE resources such as (solar and wind) to be a major factor driving grid storage adoption.

Among other variable energy technologies, the report found that selection of the appropriate energy storage technology was important factor. This depends on the use case, required discharge duration, physical site and size constraints, risk associated with extreme weather events, deployment time frame and the competitiveness of both power and energy capacity costs. Other contributing factors, that it found to be affecting VRE was the declining costs globally and flexible project planning, sizing and application. They made BESS technologies a significant contributor to power systems, for those seeking to integrate high volumes of (VRE) generation, as well as other distributed energy resources.

Integrating Battery With Technology,

The report suggested that Behind-the-meter (BTM) batteries, and the battery storage assets that are connected through electricity meters, had commercial, industrial and residential customers. These BTM batteries, are reported to be generally smaller than front-of-meter, grid-scale BESS assets, with a typical size of 3 kW to 5 MW. Often BTM batteries are paired with rooftop solar or another captive variable generator. It can provide a number of benefits for consumers, including reducing their bill through demand-side management, increasing demand flexibility and improving electricity reliability. The report highlighted that the 67 BTM batteries might be especially attractive investments for commercial or industrial consumers that experience a high frequency of outages that disrupt production.

The VRE is found to be the primary driver for grid storage needs, and integrating increasing amounts of (VRE) resources, mainly solar and wind technologies, can help to meet increasing electricity demand, it said. The report found that a combined VRE (solar and wind) capacity of 92–450 GW was expected to come online by 2030. In this, the report found that based on 28 below mentioned projects, and these national studies it could be summarized that the grid storage needs and VRE projections by 2030.