GEAPP plans 2GWh battery storage capacity in India

In an interview, Kumar said GEAPP, in partnership with IndiGrid, is expected to commission the country's first commercial utility-scale project by the end of this year or the start of 2025. It would be set up in Delhi. GEAPP has provided about 70% of the finance in the form of debt, while IndiGrid has put in 30% equity.

"We want to now take this to a 2 GWh journey in the next one year," Kumar said.

He said GEAAP is also working with distribution companies in Mumbai, Delhi, Noida (Uttar Pradesh) and West Bengal to achieve a cumulative capacity of 1 GWh.

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Noting that GEAPP does not particularly need to invest in battery energy storage systems (BESS) now, given that the cost of batteries has significantly declined over the past six months, Kumar said the clean energy-focused non-profit organization is focusing on providing help with project design, bidding, and post-commissioning support.

"We are supporting in designing a project. It is very important to use data and figure out what the utilization and the suitable capacity required for a particular location and the required storage period, whether storage is required for two hours or four hours, and so on... all these are key factors in terms of designing the battery management systems. We also work to ensure the bidding is done properly and provide them with bid support. The third thing is post-commissioning support."

He also said GEAPP is looking at creating an efficient carbon revenue model and carbon credit ecosystem in the battery space.

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"If a person is charging batteries during the day using renewable energy...then the person is displacing coal, which means fossil fuel is being displaced using renewable energy. This qualifies for carbon credit. So, we are also putting together a methodology for carbon credit," Kumar said.

Battery energy storage systems

BESS, or utility-scale battery energy storage, has gained momentum over the past couple of years with the government's ambitious plan to achieve 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030. Batteries would provide the required stability to the grid as renewable energy sourced from wind and solar is intermittent. Grid-scale storage will be essential to manage the impact on the power grid and handle the hourly and seasonal variations in renewable electricity output while keeping grids stable and reliable in the face of growing demand.

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According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), growth in batteries outpaced almost all other clean energy technologies in 2023 as falling costs, advancing innovation and supportive industrial policies helped drive up demand for a technology that will be critical to delivering the climate and energy targets outlined at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai.

Investments into energy storage will push India closer to fulfilling its target of over 81 GWh by 2026-27, as stated by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in its National Electricity Plan (NEP) 2023.

The CEA projects a required investment of ₹4.7 trillion for energy storage infrastructure by 2032.