India’s ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has invited expression of interest (EoI) for energy storage demonstration projects that would be integrated with renewable power generation.
Energy storage is expected to become a key factor in the development of renewable energy capacity, particularly due to the unpredictability of energy production by means of resources such as wind and solar.
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It would also help maintain grid stability in cases where projects are grid connected and in other cases support grid independence, such as in remote areas with poor connectivity.
The energy storage demonstration projects are aimed at analyzing the value of alternative energy storage solutions and their quality of output, identifying locations of high value for such installations, and guide key market players such as renewable energy investors and developers to adopt such systems.
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It is also expected to help policymakers to evolve policies and regulations that support development of energy storage services and market.
The MNRE release does not specify technologies that it intends to study through the demonstration projects. And it has not set a cap on the scale of the demonstration projects.
According to the release, the projects are to be evaluated in two phases. The first phase involves screening for technical qualification and the second is for final evaluation and score.
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Technical evaluation of the projects would consider the following key points: cost of energy saved; cost of storage as a percentage of the cost of energy delivered; scalability, demonstrability, impact of application and business model; quality of the overall proposal and methodology; and financial strength of the end user.
To qualify, the project proposal should meet the minimum requirement of 25 percent overall rating, the release adds.
MNRE has set September 4 as the last date for receipt of EoI applications.
Ajith Kumar S