Tenders for a 500MW/1,000MWh stand-alone battery energy storage system have started, driven by the Gujarat State Electricity Commission in India. The Electricity Market Regulatory Commission, GUVNL, has released a selection request document, which it calls the new pilot project.

Earlier in 2022, GUVNL had previously tendered a separate 500MW renewable energy project, which also had energy storage. GUVNL is also the holding company for state-owned power generation, transmission and distribution companies. It said the project will be used on an on-demand basis as requested by discoms. In July, FRV said it had begun construction on one of the largest battery storage projects in the UK, while in August NineDot launched a 12.32MWh Tesla Megapack-based energy storage site in New York City.

The Electricity Commission said it will sign a battery storage purchase agreement with the winning bidder, who will be required to build the BESS project on a self-build and self-operate model. GUVNL explained that projects under development or construction are eligible, but projects that have already been commissioned are not, and projects must dedicate all offtake volumes to the requirements of tenders/discoms. Keywords: engineering news, overseas news

In terms of requirements, the minimum size of BESS units must be 40MW/80MWh, and the required land will be owned by the transmission system operator. A government think tank has previously said the country's demand for BESS will reach around 180GWh by 2030. Demand will be driven by a number of factors, including recent government legislation requiring the percentage of total energy consumed from renewable sources to be combined with or through energy storage. 1% in 2023-2024 and 4% in 2029-2030.Editor/XingWentao