Why Storage Will Be The Next Big Thing For India's Power Sector

Why storage will be the next big thing for India’s power sector, especially renewable energy.

- Ashish Gupta

From the outside, Tata Power Delhi Distribution’s office in Rohini looks like a part of any other electrical substation in the country. High-voltage cables and wires criss-cross each other above the premises. A narrow path demarcates the grounds into two parts. Different types of transformers, circuit breakers, and other installations make up one side. On the other is a nondescript grey single-storey building that stretches across nearly 600 square metres. The whole complex is protected by an eight-foot-high boundary wall.

One of four chambers in the building is a battery room which at 400 square metres is the largest. It is packed with 124 racks of batteries and inverters stacked one on top of the other with a communication system on one side. The other side of the room contains four low-voltage switchgear of 420 volts of alternating current each. But this isn’t just some local electricity substation: What the room actually holds is the components of South Asia’s biggest battery-based energy storage system. What exactly can it do? It can discharge 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity in just milliseconds, enough to power nearly 6,000-7,000 households for an hour in case of a power failure.