Coal-fired projects back on, mega lithium battery storage push in new power policy blueprint – EQ Mag

The renewable energy thrust of the last ten years also means a projected battery storage requirement in 2031-32 of between 51 GW to 84GW and assumes a daily usage rate of 5-hours.

A new blueprint for the country’s power sector planners – the National Electricity Plan for 2022-27 – marks a discernible reversal in the policy thrust from its last edition, where the focus was almost entirely on renewable energy for incremental capacity addition and fresh coal-fired capacity was virtually ruled out. The fresh draft, in a tacit admission of the ground realities, cites the need for fresh coal-based capacity ranging from 17 GW to nearly 28 GW till 2031-32, over and above an under-construction coal based capacity of 25GW (1 giga watt or GW is equal to 1000 mega watts or MW).The renewable energy thrust of the last ten years also means a projected battery storage requirement in 2031-32 of between 51 GW to 84GW and assumes a daily usage rate of 5-hours. This, at estimates of Rs 10 crore per MW, could translate into investments into battery storage of between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh crore over the next ten years as backup for renewable capacity, that too for operations for less than a quarter of a day on an average.

Source: PTI