Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has granted regulatory approval to what is understood to be India’s first commercial standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
In a release, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) said that this BESS initiative has been supported by GEAPP’s concessional loan amounting to 70 per cent of the total project cost. The BESS project is coming up in partnership with BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd (BRPL) and India Grid Trust (IndiGrid).
The approved project, a 20 MW/40 MWh BESS, will be strategically installed at BRPL’s 33/11kV Kilokari substation and is on track to be the fastest BESS project to be commissioned, with a record time of 18-20 months from conceptualization to implementation, the release said. The project will improve the power quality and enable 24×7 reliable power in the area for over 12,000 low-income consumers.
In collaboration with its alliance partners, GEAPP is targeting 1GW of BESS commitments in India by 2026, aligning with India’s ambitious goal of deploying 47 GW of BESS by 2032.
This project is the first commercial standalone BESS project at the distribution level in India to receive regulatory approval for a capacity tariff and will play a pivotal role in facilitating the uptake of low-cost variable renewable energy by BRPL, the release noted.
With a levelized annual tariff of Rs.57.6 lakh per MW, nearly 55 per cent lower than the previous benchmark of Rs.130 lakh per MW per year, the project sets a new standard for BESS affordability in India, the release said.
Project SPV
The project SPV “Kilokari BESS Pvt Ltd” will be paid by BRPL through a fixed-capacity tariff (in INR/MW/month terms), on availability basis irrespective of the actual consumption, demonstrating its efficacy, and making it attractive for potential investors. The SPV is owned by IndiGrid and Ampere-hour Energy.
Also read: DERC Holds Emergency Meeting, Extends Relief To Discoms
Featured photograph (source: Linxon) is for representation only
