Fossil fuels are deeply tied to electricity generation, industrial operations, and transportation among other crucial sectors and cannot be easily dissociated from energy use. CSTEP focuses on a greater integration of renewables and reduction of waste energy in such sectors. This includes working with utilities to improve rooftop solar penetration, mapping potential of various renewables across the country, and analysing energy usage of MSMEs to reduce their fossil fuel consumption.
Techno-Economic Analysis of Pumped-Hydro-Energy Storage as Peaking Power Plants in India for High Renewable Energy Scenarios
Existing pumped-hydro-energy storage (PHES) plants in India are inadequately utilised and hence have low economic benefits. With high renewable energy (RE) penetration expected in the coming years, energy storage systems will gain prominence. One of the most economical, available, mature, and bulk energy storage mechanisms is PHES. However, PHES plants are capital-intensive and topographically dependent.
Significance of DRE Systems in Strengthening the Electricity Infrastructure
The draft NEP, besides recognising the significance of RE hybrids (like solar-biomass, solar-hydro) for sustainable generation, highlights the role of DRE in reducing dependency on the transmission network, especially through solar rooftops in urban spaces and mini-grids in remote villages.
However, large-scale deployment of DRE systems will throw up issues related to intermittency, voltage instabilities, variable RE (VRE) curtailments, and network management.
What Are the New Market Opportunities for Indian Developers in Solar + Storage Space?
Solar-plus-storage technology is set for a promising future in India because of rapidly rising electricity demand, ambitious solar targets, higher solar penetration, and falling prices of solar and storage technologies in the nation. As of 31 March 2021, the total power generation capacity in India is 382.15 GW, of which 234.7 GW is thermal and 94.4 GW is renewable energy (RE), with nuclear and hydro accounting for the rest.
Floating Solar in India: The Now and How of It
To keep pace with India’s RE commitments, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) invited expressions of interest from prospective developers in 2017 to implement 10 GW of floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems by 2022. However, as of July 2019, India has been able to add only about 2.7 MW. Currently, large-scale projects worth ~1.7 GW are under development, which are expected to contribute significantly to the 2020 target. This includes the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC’s) 100 MW plant in Telangana, India’s largest FPV project.
Webinar—Rooftop Solar: A Catalyst for Achieving Net-Zero Emissions
The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) organised a webinar on 26 May 2021 to discuss the potential of rooftop photovoltaic (RTPV) systems in achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in India.
Why renewable energy projects need smart siting
The current government has set an ambitious RE target of 450 GW by 2030. Though RE plants are considered green, they could have unintended impacts. Recent projects in this sector have been troubled by unintended socio-ecological conflicts due to flaws while siting land parcels and inadequate planning.