US-backed study to investigate energy storage and renewables integration in India

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Energy storage is a key solution to India’s huge target of 175GW of renewables by 2022. Flickr: SAnyam Bagha
The potential for integrating energy storage, wind and solar energy in India is to be investigated under a new US-backed study, which will help India design its future grid.

India-based wind energy firm IL&FS Energy, a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, has chosen GE Energy Consulting, an arm of digital industrial company General Electric, to carry out the study, with funding coming from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

GE will examine the feasibility of integrated wind, solar and energy storage projects at IL&FS sites at Ramagiri in the state of Andhra Pradesh, and at Nana Layja in Gujarat. The firm will design a plant that integrates all three energy technologies. It will then estimate the costs of the project, while taking into account the viability gap funding (VGF) mechanism, which is a funding scheme from India’s Central government for renewable energy projects. The project is expected to be complete this summer.

Industry commentators have cited energy storage as a key solution to India’s huge target of 175GW of renewables by 2022, because the country is likely to face grid stability issues once a significant amount of renewable energy has come online.

For example, Sundar Venkataraman, technical director, GE’s Energy Consulting, said: “Energy storage can be particularly helpful for integrating variable renewable generation in India since the technical infrastructure and market mechanisms available at the disposal of many other power grids are not yet available in the country. As the costs start to come down, energy storage will become an integral part of India’s grid.”

The study initiative comes in the wake of last year’s US-India Business Council, during which the USTDA and President Barack Obama announced plans to invest nearly US$2 billion for priority renewable energy projects in India.

IL&FS Energy signed a grant agreement with the USTDA to undertake a techno-economic feasibility study of renewables and energy storage at utility-scale in India.

Today's news also comes shortly after the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) invited expressions of interest for what may be India’s first utility-scale energy storage project to be combined with a solar and wind hybrid project at Rangreek, in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

In January, Indian newspaper Economic Times also reported that IL&FS would be developing 5GW solar park in Rajasthan, which would include some form of energy storage technology. Energy Storage News has repeatedly contacted IL&FS on this project, but received no response.

Referring to energy storage in India as a whole, Sunil Wadhwa, managing director, IL&FS Energy, said: “For commercial deployment of these technologies, a robust regulatory framework needs to be in place. The flexibility and cost reductions that energy storage technologies provide to grid infrastructure would allow India to achieve an efficient, low-carbon intensity trajectory. The current challenge, however, is to address the initial high cost through a regulatory framework.”

Yesterday, Isabella Ni, seniour solar analyst at IHS, also cited a lack of regulation and incentives in India for energy storage.

1 July 2025
London, UK
UK Solar Summit 2025 will look at the role solar currently plays in the energy mix, how this will change over the coming years and how this aligns with net-zero and other government targets. We will break down all these challenges and help build up solutions through discursive panels, motivational keynotes and case studies, with newly added interactive sessions to get you moving and meeting your peers, making the connections you need to boost your business.
1 July 2025
Leonardo Royal Hotel London Tower Bridge, London, UK

Read Next

Premium
May 20, 2025
ESN Premium speaks with Chloe Hicks of EnergyCo about New South Wales’ Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) and its hopes for energy storage.
May 20, 2025
Origin Energy has submitted an 800MWh wind-plus-storage project in New South Wales to Australia’s EPBC Act.
Sponsored
May 19, 2025
Goldwind discusses how its unmatched system-level expertise from the renewables space makes it ideally placed to solve the key industry challenges it sees emerging in energy storage.
May 19, 2025
Elements Green has received grid connection approval from Powerlink Queensland and the AEMO for a 1.3GWh solar-plus-BESS site in Queensland.
May 16, 2025
Developer Elgin Energy has secured grid connection approval from AEMO for a 150MW solar-plus-storage site in Victoria.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter