India will add only 50 GW of solar project capacity and 10 GW of wind power over the next five years, according to a survey of chief executives, to leave it far short of the government ambition of hitting 175 GW of clean energy in two years’ time.
Bosses from 40 Indian and international businesses made the pessimistic prediction as part of this year’s renewable energy survey of CEOs by consultancy Bridge to India.
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India even could achieve 100 GW solar installation in the next 5 years.
India has 55000 – 60000, 33 / 11 distribution S/S and therefore a well-engineered 500 KW to 2 MW small scale DSG system with limited storage capacity, the system will generate, service local load, technically fit in an existing transmission network, provides grid stability, improve tail end feeder voltage, eliminate accidental blackouts apart that all issues related to permitting process, biology, stormwater, noise, or any other possible environmental impact will disappear in execution.
This concept can easily spread all across the country for high-level penetration at distribution networks into the grid and technically accommodate easily 100 GW solar energy in the grid. DSG with Storage penetration at this level will transform India’s future energy resilience for its 2030 clean energy road map and greatly replace all other formats of power generation. The concept of DSG added with energy storage is the answer which will beat mega-scale solar and eliminates thermal power development.
A strong policy for this concept if made in the new Electricity Act Amendment, large scale penetration of solar energy into the grid through DSG with BES will happen. The prices for solar declined to Rs. 2.50 / unit and Li-Ion batteries are sharply falling will make this energy the lowest compared to all formats.
I estimate costs for utility-scale lithium-ion batteries and solar PV systems, if we scale unsubsidized prices in India, even with higher financing costs, the PPA prices through the competitive bid process will emerge around Rs. 3.0–3.5/kWh for about 13% of PV energy stored in the battery for the installation years 2021–2022. The tariff adder for a co-located battery system storing 25% of PV energy at each 33 / 11 KV S/S is estimated to be Rs. 1.25 / kWh in 2020 -21, < Rs. 1.0/kWh in 2022 -25, and around Rs. 0.70 /kWh in 2030. A co-located plant with PV, the storage capital cost would be lower and this implies that the total prices (PV system plus battery storing 25% of PV energy) are Rs. 3.75 /kWh in 2020, Rs. 3.32/kWh in 2025, and Rs. 2.90/kWh in 2030. Such low battery storage with PV installation prices could transform the Indian energy sector and supply 24×7 solar energy to eliminate coal-based power generation to meet its growing energy needs.
DSG with BES development into the grid at distribution centers is the future for India’s 2030 energy road map. The technical issues apart from the financial, legal, policy, and regulatory challenges could be well addressed deploying best engineering practices with strong policy support for the grid to accept this unpredicted variable solar power to safely integrate into the grid.
Given the constantly dropping cost of solar, I would have thought there would have been huge potential in the commercial and industrial sector for on site consumption without subsidy.
Solar energy has the least negative impact on the environment compared to any other energy source. It does not produce greenhouse gases and does not pollute the water. It also requires very little water for its maintenance.