India joins first-of-its-kind consortium in deployment of battery energy storage systems

New Delhi: India, along with Barbados, Belize, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Togo, committed to the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium as first-mover countries with AfDB, the World Bank, IDB, ADB, AFD, RMI, GIZ, Africa 50, Masdar, Infinity Power, AMEA Power, COP28 Presidency, NREL, Net Zero World, and SEforAll signing on as resource partners

Securing 5 GW of energy storage commitments by the end of 2024 is a key deliverable of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet's Global Leadership Council, which was formed in 2022 to significantly reduce the cost of, and access to, renewable energy technologies in LMICs while increasing their accessibility and addressing the climate crisis.

Commitments demonstrate progress towards enabling 400 GW of renewable energy by 2030 in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) and solving energy poverty. India has joined the Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Consortium, an initiative of The Global Leadership Council (GLC) of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).

Through the BESS Consortium, India is among the first-mover countries, as a part of the collaborative effort to secure 5 gigawatts (GW) of BESS commitments by the end of 2024. India has taken significant steps for integration of BESS which will be crucial in supporting its goal of energy security and access to reliable round-the-clock energy for all.

In September this year, the Government of India approved a scheme committing to the development of 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31, with a financial support of up to 40 per cent of the capital cost to developers in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF). The scheme is expected to bring down the costs of BESS infrastructure projects and incentivise public-private partnerships. Commenting on the announcement, Saurabh Kumar, Vice President - India, GEAPP said, "The BESS Consortium is an example of GEAPP's firm belief in the power of collaborative actions and partnerships to achieve people-positive energy transition. The expansion of BESS is crucial to bring down the current high cost to resolve the issue of intermittency and lead to accelerated RE integration. It would also help fast-track innovative regulations that will unlock the value streams on batteries and provide much-needed balancing support to the grid. This would positively impact the demand for RE which is imperative for a Net Zero future.

" At The Energy Transition Dialogues (TETD) organised by GEAPP in New Delhi last month, a comprehensive report titled ‘Powering Progress: Batteries for Discoms - A Market Action Report on Accelerating Battery Energy Storage in India' was released. This report is a result of the collective effort by GEAPP and RMI. It elaborated that approximately 42 GW (208 GWh) of BESS would be required to integrate 392 GW of VRE (100 GW of wind and 292 GW of solar) by 2030. It also found that integrating increasing amounts of VRE resources, mainly solar and wind, to be a major factor driving grid storage adoption. During the event, GEAPP also announced the expansion of its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in India, which aims to achieve the target of 1GW for DISCOMS under BESS by 2026.

IndiGrid, India's first power sector infrastructure investment trust, was awarded its first BESS project to design, supply, test, install, commission, operate, and maintain a 20 MW/40 MWh in Delhi. GEAPP aims to provide concessional debt financing for 70 per cent of the total capital investment and technical assistance for the project. The implementation provides a new pathway since many similar projects have been stuck due to high costs and regulatory bottlenecks. GEAPP will continue to work on a scale-up plan with DISCOMs to achieve the target of 200 MW by providing technical assistance and concessional funding.

Barbados, Belize, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Togo are the other first-mover countries that have committed to the BESS Consortium with Indonesia showing strong interest. In order to achieve the estimated 400 GW of renewable energy needed to alleviate energy poverty by 2030, and save a gigaton of CO2, 90 GW of storage capacity must be developed.

The BESS Consortium's initial 5 GW goal will help create a roadmap for achieving the rest by 2030. Battery Energy Storage Systems are a critical element to increasing the reliability of grids and accommodating the variable renewable energy sources that are needed to power economic development. In many cases, a combination of BESS and renewables are already cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. The BESS Consortium is a multi-stakeholder partnership set up to ensure these BESS benefits transform energy systems across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The Consortium is on track to meet its target of securing 5 GW of BESS commitments by the end of 2024 and deploying these by the end of 2027. BESS Consortium first-mover countries will be supported by resource partners including the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), RMI, Africa50, Masdar, Infinity Power, COP28 Presidency, AMEA Power, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Net Zero World, and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), with additional partners and countries expected to join.