Snapshot
Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has issued the tender for setting up 500 MW/1000 MWh Standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
The tender marks the first tranche of the Government’s immediate target of setting up 4,000 MWh of battery storage capacity to achieve increased penetration of renewable energy in the national grid.
Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), has issued the tender for setting up 500 MW/1000 MWh Standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in India.
This first-of-its-kind tender in the country will provide distribution companies with storage facilities to be used on an on-demand basis.
The total capacity to be set up is 1,000 MWh (500 MW x two hours), which will constitute two projects of 500 MWh (250 MW x two hours) capacity each.
The projects will be installed in Rajasthan on a Build-Own-Operate basis. The buying entities will be offered the storage capacity to charge and discharge the same daily through renewable power, as per their energy shifting requirements.
SECI is the implementing agency of this tender. It will be procuring 60 per cent of the capacity on behalf of the buying entities, charging a facilitation fee in the form of a trading margin.
“The developer shall make the BESS available for two operational cycles per day, i.e. two complete charge-discharge cycles per day. The projects are required to demonstrate minimum availability of 95 per cent on an annual basis, a minimum Round-Trip Efficiency of 85 per cent monthly,” the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy said.
“The term of the projects will be 12 years, with the Scheduled Commissioning Date being 18 months from the date of signing of the Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA). Financial Closure is to be achieved within 12 months of the signing of BESPA,” it added.
The tender marks the first tranche of the Government’s immediate target of setting up 4,000 MWh of battery storage capacity to achieve increased penetration of renewable energy in the national grid.
It must be noted here that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has prepared a report on ‘Optimal Generation Capacity Mix for 2029-30.’ As per the report, a battery energy storage capacity of 27,000 MW/108,000 MWh (4-hour storage) is projected to be part of the installed capacity in 2029-30.