Grids & Integration

While the current policy regime supports the adoption of flexible resources like batteries, grid flexibility and resilience require more focus and a range of calibrated efforts, including due acknowledgment as a sector priority and robust planning at the central and state level. The upcoming union budget provides an opportunity for the government to develop flexible and resilient grids.

Hitachi Energy will provide made-in-India power transformers for NTPC’s upcoming 4.75 GW solar energy park in Gujarat.

The growth of utility-scale solar PV in India is marred by several challenges such as availability of land, limited local manufacturing capacity, high transmission and distribution losses, grid integration, and other inefficiencies.

A new report by IEEFA says India’s power market design must evolve to transition faster to an ultra-low-cost renewable energy-based electricity system. 

BSES Yamuna Power Limited has deployed a digital solution pilot project that predicts the energy demand at consumption points like electric vehicle charging stations and energy generation capacity at solar rooftops. This will help the utility plan to store excess energy by considering the distribution congestion and commercial aspects. 

The present system of the energy sector is centralized due to which the prosumer’s and consumers’ direct connection is yet to be formed. It’s due to persisting challenges like transaction efficiency, security and data transparency in the Indian energy market. The blockchain is a data-driven technology that helps create a very transparent process in data sharing among the peers involved in the system and sort out the challenges persisting in the energy market.

A pair of researchers from UC San Diego has proposed to precompute certain data when the grid is flooded with solar or wind power, and then store it on servers for later use.

The Paris-based body expects the world will have installed almost 160 GW of solar this year, a record number, but still not enough to keep the prospect of a net zero global economy by mid century in sight.

The ratings agency expects the energy demand in FY 2021-22 to grow by 8-8.5%. While the increased energy demand will improve the thermal plant load factor (PLF) level, this sector outlook remains negative as the PLF level will remain below 60%.

A new IEEFA note discusses the impact of the proposed market-based economic dispatch mechanism for procuring bulk power, and regulations for frequency control ancillary services.