PremiumThe govt is also considering installing new power transmission lines to tap the large hydropower potential in India’s strategic northeast region and incentives for setting up battery swapping infrastructure for EVs in the budget, the officials said, requesting anonymity
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NEW DELHI : India may offer viability-gap funding or grants to companies for building energy storage projects and offshore wind power plants in the budget, two government officials aware of the plans said.
The government is also considering installing new power transmission lines to tap the large hydropower potential in India’s strategic northeast region and incentives for setting up battery swapping infrastructure for electric vehicles in the budget, the officials said, requesting anonymity.
Large battery storage and hydropower plants can help keep India’s power grids stable, given the intermittent nature of electricity from clean energy sources such as solar and wind.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged at the COP26 summit to meet half of the country’s energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030 and boost non-fossil fuel power generation capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by the end of this decade.
“This requires an annual capacity addition of 42GW over the next eight years, necessitating multi-billion-dollar investments during this period. Therefore, the availability of adequate long-term financing avenues at competitive rates remains important for achieving these targets," credit rating agency Icra said in its pre-budget expectations on Wednesday.
India’s green energy industry has set high hopes on the budget, given the sector has been a key focus area for the Modi administration.
VGF can push India’s infrastructure-creation plans through public-private partnerships with the electricity storage business expected to be a vital part of the energy transition.
The government has recently unveiled an ₹18,100 crore production-linked incentive scheme for developing a battery storage ecosystem that involves setting up a 55-gigawatt hour (GWh) manufacturing capacity for advanced chemistry cell batteries.
“Further, incentives and policy measures are required to promote investments in the energy storage segment considering the increasing share of renewables in the electricity generation mix and the need for adequate balancing sources," Icra said.
In addition to plans for calling bids for setting up a 13-GWh grid-scale battery storage system in Ladakh, the government also plans to build around 14 GWh grid-scale battery storage system at the world’s largest renewable energy park at Khavda in Kutch.
Also, several other grid-scale battery storage projects are in the works.
The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has also set a target of adding 30GW offshore wind energy projects by 2030 by harnessing the enormous wind power potential along India’s 7,600km coastline.
Queries emailed to the spokespersons of the ministries of finance, power and new and renewable energy late Tuesday remained unanswered till press time.
Meanwhile, with an eye on a belligerent China, India is also seeking to accelerate the construction of infrastructure projects in the North-East.
With hydropower set to play a key role in the development and integration of the North-East with the mainland, the Centre has been trying to pull out all the stops for such projects to pre-empt threats caused by Chinese plans by establishing its prior-use claim over the waters.
This comes against the backdrop of Beijing declaring that it is initiating the construction of run-of-the-river projects and hydroelectricity projects on the Great Bend, right above Indian territory, where the Brahmaputra takes a U-turn.
China has put in play its ambitious $62 billion south-north water diversion scheme of the rivers that feed downstream into the Brahmaputra, known in China as the Yarlung Tsangpo.
Also, hydropower projects can be swiftly turned on and off compared to thermal power plants.
New Delhi is working on a raft of initiatives as part of the country’s ambitious energy transition plan.
These include exploring to run ships 100% on green energy, a hybrid model to leverage roof-top solar for cooking as part of its Clean Cooking Mission that may also have an in-house battery infrastructure, and a waiver of ₹400 cess on every tonne of coal used by power projects meeting emission norms as reported by Mint earlier.
Also, a scheme tentatively named Roadmap for Sustainable and Holistic Approach through National Energy Efficiency, or ROSHNEE, is in the works, and the government has made it mandatory for coal-fuelled power projects to use at least 5% biomass pellets as part of its fuel mix to generate electricity and help farmers earn about ₹15,000 crore annually.
At the Glasgow summit, Modi also promised to cut India’s total projected carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes and the economy’s carbon intensity to less than 45% by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
