The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), a public sector body under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, has issued the tender for setting up 500 MW/1000–MWh Standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). A first–of–its–kind tender in the country, it will provide power distribution companies with storage facilities to be used on an “on–demand” basis.
The tender marks the first tranche of the government’s immediate target of setting up 4000 MWh of Battery Storage Capacity to inject more renewable energy in the national grid. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA)/MoP has recommended that a battery energy storage capacity of 27,000 MW/108,000 MWh (4–hour storage) ought to be part of the installed capacity in 2029–30.
A BESS system is made up of batteries that can be charged by solar power during the day and then making that power available in the evening or night. As evening power demand is fulfilled by coal plants, having a battery system integrated with a solar power plant will mean that the dependency on coal can be reduced and more renewable energy can be supplied to homes and establishments.
