Govt floats draft EoI for installation of 1,000 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)

• The draft will be discussed at a pre-bid conference scheduled to be held on October 28 at 4 pm
• Based on the suggestions and the feedback from various stakeholders, the final BESS RFS document will be floated in the first week of November 2021

New Delhi: On behalf of the government, state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has floated a draft expression of interest (EoI) for setting up of ISTS-connected pilot projects of standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), for an aggregate storage capacity of 1,000 MWh (500 MW x 2 hrs). In an official statement released on Thursday, the Ministry of Power said, "Government has given go ahead for inviting the expression of interest for installation of 1000 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as a pilot project. This is the joint effort of both Ministry of New and renewable energy and Ministry of Power who have been working on this to provide a road map for the installation of the energy storage system in the country."

1,000 MWh BESS EoI: Final RFS to be floated in Nov

SECI has published the EoI on its website along with the RFS bid document and the draft comprehensive guideline for procurement and utilisation of BESS as a part of generation, transmission and distribution assets and with all ancillary services. The draft will be discussed at a pre-bid conference scheduled to be held on October 28 at 4 pm. SECI has also invited comments on the draft document by October 27. 

Based on the suggestions and the feedback from various stakeholders, the final RFS document will be floated in the first week of November 2021, along with the final comprehensive guidelines for procurement and utilisation of BESS as part of generation, transmission and distribution assets and with all ancillary services, said the Ministry of Power.

BESS pivotal for India's 450 GW RE target 

In order to support the ambitious goal of achieving 450 GW of renewable energy (RE) target by 2030, it is important to put energy storage systems (battery energy storage system, hydro pump storage plants etc) in place.

The statement said that going forward, India plans to use battery energy storage system under following business cases — Renewable energy along with the energy storage system, energy storage system as grid element to maximise the use of transmission system and strengthening grid stability and also to save investment in the augmentation of transmission infrastructure.

Storage will be also be used as an asset for balancing services and flexible operation in the face of greater RE penetration into the grid. The system operator, ie load dispatchers (RLDCs and SLDCs), may use storage system for frequency control and balancing services to manage the inherent uncertainty/variations in the load due to un-generation. Storage for distribution system, ie it may be placed at the load centre to manage its peak load and other obligations. BESS will also be used as a merchant capacity by the energy storage system developer and sold in the power market.

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