Would RE valleys development coupled with integrated long duration energy storage in India, can be a game changer in achieving 44-45 GW of combined solar & wind capacity additions on yoy basis till 2030?

Nitika Sharma, VP- Corporate Strategy & New Business, of Eninrac Consulting says “As of March’23, the renewable energy installed capacity of India stood at 125 GW (excluding large hydro). Solar & wind energy being the key contributors, commanding 87% of the total RE capacity portfolio, with share of solar – 67 GW & wind – 43 GW approximately. During the period from Mar’2021-23 the total solar energy capacity in India observed a boost of  approx. 27 GW, adding an average of 9 GW annually. While , in case of wind the capacity addition during the same period was merely 4GW, indicating an average of 1.3 GW annually.  Significantly as India targets to achieve 280 GW of solar & 140 GW of wind by 2030 the tasks seems gargantuan, given the trends. For this massive addition India would need to add ~45 GW of (combined solar & wind capacities) from 2023 to 2030.

Given, achieving such colossal capacity additions would be a big challenge to cater – the need for dedicated transmission corridor would follow in suit. Apart from these couplet of challenges transforming the capacities added into a RTC solution , the energy storage capacities would have to be augmented massively. Therefore, apart from increasing the bid capacities for both solar & wind by SECI to address close to 70-75% of the capacities to be added through sovereign contracts. For the balance capacity - a concurrent mechanism of developing Renewable Energy Valleys could be evaluated with an integrated approach of long duration energy storage systems which could ease the issue of 24×7 power supply to consumers as an offgrid solution without impacting grid stability. Renewable energy valleys are understood as decentralized renewable energy systems that offer a viable and efficient solution to the energy needs of the end consumers. The renewable energy valleys can take diverse configurations, such as peri-urban settings, (agro-) industrial clusters or remote or islanded areas. They can also take the form of either distinct but combined systems or unique poly-generation systems (i.e., in the same infrastructure) to deliver multiple energy carriers from combined renewable energy resources and technologies.”