NLC India in Talks with Andaman for 20 MWh Storage System

Hithium & Perfect Power Join Forces for 1 GWh Energy Storage

NLC India  is in discussions with the Andaman and Nicobar authorities  for the establishment of a 20 MWh storage battery system. The islands are currently dependent on diesel generators, with the systems helping meet 95% of the energy requirement and the remaining 5% from hydropower.

“South Andaman has a 20 MW solar plant and an 8 MWh storage facility. Andaman has contacted us to guarantee grid stability by installing more battery capacity”, revealed Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, the CMD of NLC India. The said energy storage project would require CAPEX worth INR 250 crore for the 20 MWh battery energy storage system.

Even though Andaman and Nicobar Islands have massive potential for energy, the geographical isolation has been posing a challenge to energy stability.  The BESS project proposed in the region is said to address the challenge with respect to energy security while also adding to green energy in the region.

NLC India has set itself massive renewable energy targets and is looking at installing 6,000 MW of capacity by 2030, with an expenditure of INR 24,000 crore.

NLC India has also set sights on the development of 300 MW capacity at Khavda Solar Park in Gujarat which comes with 300 MW of greenshoe option. The firm is proactively working in Uttar Pradesh and is in the middle of talks with the Uttar Pradesh government for land towards the installation of solar capacity close to 800 MW.

Recently, The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has issued a tender seeking bidders who could undertake technical studies in South Andaman to develop regional solar projects.

The whole South Andaman district is spread over an area of 3106 sq-km with a population of 2.38 lakh with three blocks and 99 revenue villagers. It just has one municipality, nine police stations, and three tehsils.

The Union government earlier had also planned to deploy solar energy projects for South Andaman to boost the penetration of clean energy in the area. It planned to help the eco-sensitive zone to shun fossil-fuel-based energy.