SECI plans 500 MW solar thermal capacity tender by FY25-end; says SECI Chairman at IESW 2024
New Delhi, India | July 03, 2024: Addressing India Energy Storage Week (IESW) organised by leading industry body India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) in Delhi, R P Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director of the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) said, “SECI is expected to float a tender for 500 megawatt (MW) of solar thermal capacity by the end of FY25. This will be the first time in India that such a tender would be floated on this scale. The projects under the 500 MW tender will have advanced technology where steam would be generated through heat and it would also help in running turbines.”
Energy Storage session at IESW focused on Energy Storage for 500 GW Renewable, Grid Modernization, and Decarbonization of the C&I Sector , key central & state government policies, industry adoptions, role of energy storage in the electricity value chain, BESS systems for Indian Grid and other form of Energy storage beyond batteries. Key dignitaries included Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson, CEA, Ministry of Power, Jishnu Barua, Chairperson, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), S R Narasimhan, Chairman and Managing Director, GRID India, R P Gupta, Chairman & MD, Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), Thomas Coughlin, President, IEEE, Hiren Pravin Shah, Executive Director & CEO, Replus Engitech, Akash Kaushik, Co-Founder, Good Enough Energy and Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President & MD, CES India & President, India Energy Storage Alliance graced the occasion.
“We require energy round the clock and we let the developer find its own solution. What is the kind of solar component he wants to have, the wind component which he wants to have and the energy storage component which he wants to have. Let them design it and offer the round the clock energy to us.”, R P Gupta further added.
Emphasising on the waiver of transmission level for charging and discharging , Jishnu Barua, Chairperson, CERC said, “ A lot of new developments have taken place and prices are bound to come down. Energy Storage has a big role in stabilising grid, enhancing reliability and optimising use of RE. From energy access and availability, Indian electric sector is now focusing on stabilising it. “
The energy transition is the need of the hour to achieve the Net Zero goal by 2070. Energy efficiency in generation, transmission, and consumption will become very important. New technologies such as Gravity storage, Co2 stone storage solution, etc are bringing a huge change in the industry. There is a big market for Energy Storage and at every stage, there are immense opportunities that the industry can exploit.
Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, President & MD, CES India & President, India Energy Storage Alliance said, “Safety is a significant area where we need to deploy new measures and technologies. I urge the industry to not compromise on safety. As India is moving towards a big vision to scale up its GWh capacity, we cannot afford any mistakes. We have to grow economically, environmentally, and safely, moving away from the low-pricing model.”
Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairperson CEA, Ministry of Power said, “Grid is facing the challenge on the ops side of it, regulations are an area of challenge. In the last 14-15 months 47 disturbances affected 1000 MW and is going as high as 3,700 MW. We need to keep on adding RE and ensure grid disturbance doesn’t occur. In India, peak load experience is during the day hours, 2-3 pm. We need to focus on measures to improve the healthiness of the grid during evening hours and therein storage will play a big role in the evening hours.”
Reflecting its role as a global platform, IESW 2024 aims to showcase Indian innovations to the international battery and energy storage community while facilitating partnerships for global companies entering India’s burgeoning battery market.
