The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has announced the commissioning of what it says is India's largest solar-battery project with a 40 MW/120 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) component, located in Chhattisgarh, and funded by the World Bank.
In December 2022, the World Bank signed an agreement for a $150 million IBRD loan, a $28 million Clean Technology Fund (CTF) loan and a $22 million CTF grant for SECI. Proceeds were approved for the Chhattisgarh project, and another floating solar plant at the Getalsud reservoir in Jharkhand under the bank's Innovation in Solar Power & Hybrid Technologies Project for India.
It is associated with a solar power plant with an installed capacity of 152.325 MWh and dispatchable capacity of 155.02 MW DC/100 MW AC.
SECI shares that the facility has leveraged financing from domestic lending agencies.
"This further highlights the collaborative efforts to drive sustainable financial arrangements, making the project commercially attractive and viable," states SECI.
Power generated from this Rajnandgaon located facility, owned by SECI, is contracted to be purchased by the state electricity distribution company Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) to meet its peak energy demand. The long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) will also enable the state to meet its renewable purchase obligations.
Equipped with bifacial modules, the project utilizes battery storage to store excess power generated by the panels during the day to be used later during hours of peak demand in the evening.
The project is located on previously unused land. A total of 451 acres of waste land across 9 villages in Tehsil Dongargarh and Dongargaon, District Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh has been repurposed for this plant. It was made possible under a tripartite land-use permission agreement signed by the state's Energy Department, CSPDCL and SECI.
Battery storage is an important piece of the energy transition puzzle for India as it can help provide grid stability and uninterrupted renewable energy power supply.
According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India will require 82.37 GWh of total energy storage capacity by 2026-27, increasing to 411.4 GWh in 2031-32, divided between pumped storage hydropower (PSP), and BESS.
By 2047, the CEA adds, the requirement is expected to further increase to 2,380 GWh as more renewable energy is added with regard to the 2070 net-zero goal for the country. BESS will need to contribute 34.72 GWh, 236.22 GWh and 1,840 GWh over the projected period, respectively.