India Gets Strong Response To First-Ever Solar Storage Tender

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More than a dozen project developers have submitted bids to set up storage-backed solar power capacity in one of India’s upcoming solar power parks.

According to media reports, a tender issued by the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up storage-based 50 megawatts solar power capacity at Kadapa solar power park in the state of Andhra Pradesh has received 13 bids so far.

Each 50 megawatt block will be backed with 5 megawatt or 2.5 megawatt-hours of storage capacity installed within the 1 gigawatt Kadapa solar power park. Among the specifications laid down by SECI for the storage system are a rated power output of 30 minutes and a response time of a second or less.

This tender is the first experimenting of SECI to integrate storage systems with utility-scale solar power projects. India is looking at several options to seamlessly integrate solar power capacity into the existing grid. These options include implementation of dedicated transmission lines to absorb power generated from solar power projects, and setting up storage-based solar power projects.

SECI will also hold an auction for an additional 200 megawatts of storage-based solar power capacity. This capacity will be at the Pavagada solar power park in the state of Karnataka. The auction will include 50 megawatt capacity blocks, each backed with a 2.5 megawatt-hour of storage system.

Additionally, a storage-backed solar power project of 50 megawatts capacity has also been announced by NTPC Limited for the islands of Andaman and Nicobar.