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20.11.2013

Energy Storage India - leading conference and expo addressing the need for energy storage solutions

The premiere of Energy Storage India is announced for December 04 to 06 2013 in Mumbai. Energy Storage India (ESI) is the leading conference and expo addressing the need for energy storage solutions in India. ESI will be the first energy storage conference and exhibition in India to focus exclusively on applications, customers and deal making. It is poised to provide a first-class networking event to drive energy storage market expansion in profitable applications – highlighting the synergies, inter-relationships and new business opportunities for transmission, distribution, customer-sited, microgrids/campuses and mobility (electric vehicle charging) applications. The event is member of the “World of Energy Storage”, the product family of energy storage conferences and expos established by Messe Düsseldorf. Energy Storage India is organized by Messe Düsseldorf India Pvt. Ltd. together with the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA).

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with current electricity generation capacity of 212 GW to meet the needs of over 1.2 Billion people. Experts forecast that India needs to add at least 250-400 GW of new generation capacity within the next two decades to keep up with steep demand growth. The country is relying on the adoption of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar for meeting the growing supply demand gap. The launch of Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) - a joint initiative of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Ministry of Power will integrate 20 GW of solar generation into grid. Wind energy is also pegged as a key growth driver with the sector targeting 30 GW by 2020. Currently, India ranks fifth in terms of installed capacity from wind energy projects globally which has reached 19 GW of wind power. As a result, there is an increasing need to balance supply and demand at any time, enabling more flexible grid management & ensure optimized levels of energy efficiency.

India presents a large untapped opportunity for advanced energy storage system providers throughout the electric power system. Many applications, both on the utility-side and customer-side of the meter, demand the benefits of smaller, lighter and longer-life, flexible energy storage solutions-- creating tremendous new project development and business opportunities. As a low-cost global technology leader, lndia also offers opportunities for partnering with world class manufacturing and system integration companies that can leverage domestic manufacturing capabilities and access to supply chain to simultaneously provide economies of scale that can help transform global energy storage market.

Realizing the growing importance of Smart Grid technologies in the Indian power sector, the Ministry of Power (MoP) has also released the “Smart Grid Vision and Roadmap for India” at the Power Ministers Conference in Delhi on 10th Sep 2013. In order to achieve its vision, MoP is seeking active participation from various stakeholders to formulate state/utility specific policies and programs in alignment with its broad policies and targets to achieve objective of “Access, Availability and Affordability of Power for All”.

There are several drivers for the need to develop Smart Grid solutions in India, which in turn could lead to growth in micro grids integrated with energy storage. Some of the drivers are as below:

Access, availability of power via Microgrids, Renewable sources & Energy Storage
This will be in alignment with Smart Grid vision for India along with India’s aggressive renewable generation program. Under the Smart Grid roadmap MoP has targets for:

Development of Microgrids, energy storage options, virtual power plants (VPP), solar photovoltaic to grid (PV2G), and building to grid (B2G) technologies in order to manage peak demand, optimally use installed capacity and eliminate load shedding and black-outs.
Microgrids in 1000 villages/industrial parks/commercial hubs by 2017, 10,000 villages/industrial parks/commercial hubs by 2022, and 20,000 villages/industrial parks/commercial hubs by 2027 which can island from the main grid during peak hours or grid disturbances.
Setting up of Renewable Energy Monitoring Centre's (REMCs) and Energy Storage Systems to facilitate grid integration of renewable generation.
Promotion of smart rural microgrids under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) may be accorded priority to address both access and availability concerns of rural electrification.

These will help push technology, business case, and regulatory frameworks for smart grids, microgrids integrated with energy storage.

Smart Grid, Energy Storage to help Electric Mobility
India has also recently launched a National Mission on Electric Mobility with a target of 6 million electric vehicles (4 million two-wheelers and 2 million four-wheelers) by 2020. These millions of EVs connected to the power system can be leveraged as virtual power plants (VPPs) that can store energy when there is surplus generation and support the grid during moments of deficit. Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technologies are evolving rapidly that can achieve these objectives.

To achieve these objectives the Smart Grid roadmap targets to introduce Battery Parks and other Energy Storage Systems on trial basis under the 12th Plan, and large roll outs of Energy Storage Systems, EV charging stations in all urban areas and strategic locations on highways under the 13th Plan.

Reduction in Transmission and distribution losses
The transmission and distribution losses are still very high in the Indian power system and distribution network (aggregate technical & commercial, or AT&C) loss reduction continues to be the top priority of both utilities and government. Smart grid solutions will help monitor, measure and even control power flows in real time that can help identify losses and thereby appropriate technical and managerial actions can be taken to arrest the losses.

Smart Grid road map targets Reduction of AT&C losses in all Distribution Utilities to below 15% under 12th Plan, below 12% under 13th Plan, and below 10% under 14th Plan. Microgrids will play major role to achieve these targets to reduce the AT&C losses.

National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM)
In order to effectively implement the goals conceived in the Smart Grid Vision and Roadmap, MoP is targeting to launch the National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) in 2014.The NSGM Secretariat will work closely with all industry stakeholders and through a process of consultation to conclude all issues related to standards, regulation and policy, engineering design, process methodologies, technology selection etc.

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NMEM)
NMEM is amongst the most significant interventions of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Government of India that promises to transform the automotive paradigm of the future by lessening the dependence on fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency of vehicles and by providing the means to achieve ultimate objective of cleaner transportation that is compatible with sustainable renewable energy generation. The Ministry further approved taking up this initiative on National Mission Mode along with setting up of high level apex structure in the form of National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM) & National Board of Electric Mobility (NBEM). In order to fast track the introduction & manufacturing of full range of electric vehicles including hybrids a National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020 was approved which aims to sell around 6 million units of xEVs by 2020.

Source: Energy Storage India