Energy Storage

As India plans to set up large lithium-ion battery plants, the Lithium Triangle countries in South America (comprising Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) have offered to meet India’s growing demand for lithium.

Considering the remarkable advances made by the solar sector since the Rio ‘Earth Summit’ of 1992, PV was notable by its absence at the Convention of Parties climate change summit held by the UN in Poland.

“We urge the government to take swift action in launching the National Energy Storage Mission in order to support the development of an R&D and manufacturing ecosystem for energy storage and electric vehicles,” said Rahul Walawalkar, president of the India Energy Storage Alliance.

The president of India has sanctioned setting up of 14 MW grid-connected solar PV projects with aggregate battery storage capacity of 42 MWh for Jammu & Kashmir under Prime Minister Development Package (PMDP)-2015 . The projects would be set up during 2019-20 and 2020-21, and include 7 MW solar projects with battery storage of 21 MWh each in Leh and Kargil at different locations. These would be implemented in developer mode, at a fixed tariff of Rs 2 per unit, with viability gap funding support.

For the purchase, the government of Tamil Nadu is seeking a loan from German state-owned development bank KfW, at an interest rate of 2%, according to reports.

Setting up of the microgrid with battery energy storage is part of an extended R&D collaboration between ABB and the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee to create platforms for research on smart city technology deployment.

Electric car sales in India declined by 40 per cent to a mere 1,200 units in the financial year 2018 over the financial year 2017, while electric two-wheeler sales rose 138 per cent to 54,800 units during the same period—according to research and consultancy group Wood Mackenzie.

The fate of the clutch of 500 MW-plus projects due to break ground this year could determine whether such ambitious schemes have a viable future, says Wood Mackenzie in its solar 2019 forecast. And the Indian market should brace for consolidation, add the analysts, because of aggressive reverse-auction tariff pricing.

Although the solar industry sees itself as young, its assets are aging. Owners still struggle with the complexity of making the best use of big data analysis to improve plant efficiency and profitability. Ragna Schmidt-Haupt, of Everoze, examines why this has not changed, and what can or should be improved. Artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, automated assessments and smart monitoring software – holistic solar asset management starts here.

Government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited will set up a network of solar-based electric vehicle chargers along the entire 250 km stretch of road between Delhi and Chandigarh, allaying range anxiety among EV users.