It is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with a current electricity generation capacity of 230 GW to meet the needs of over 1.25 billion people. Become a member of the leading alliance in India focused on advanced energy storage, green hydrogen, and e-mobility. Join IESA and become a member today.

1. India poised to adopt energy storage
revolution with 2 new initiatives for
energy storage deployment
This month 2 major announcements by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
(MNRE) and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) have opened doors for
energy storage deployment for ancillary services and renewable integration in India.
Although this is just a beginning, I am excited about the potential of these projects
to start a new direction for Indian Electricity Grid.
India has witnessed the number of transformations in the past 50 years starting with
the Green Revolution of the 1960s that transformed the agricultural practices in
India.
In the 1970s and 80s, the “White Revolution - Operation Flood” included the world's
biggest dairy development program which transformed India from a milk deficient
nation to the largest milk producer in the world within a span of 30 years.
The 1990s saw the economic reforms that opened up the Indian economy and led to
the telecom and IT revolutions that have made India a leader in the knowledge
economy in the 2000s.
Today, India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with a current
electricity generation capacity of ~230 GW to meet the needs of over 1.25 Billion
population.

2. India's per capita annual consumption of energy at ~600 kWh is one of the lowest in
the world, even when compared to developing countries like Brazil and China.
This is a decade where India needs a clean energy revolution for transforming the
electricity infrastructure to provide energy access to over 400 million households
that still lack basic access to electricity.
At the same time, India currently boasts a middle-class population exceeding 300
Million (almost the size of USA) that is looking for the same level of energy access
and power quality that is taken for granted in developed countries through movement
towards Green Cities and sustainable living.
Also, the lack of reliable and quality power supply is a major obstacle for accelerating
the development of manufacturing and industrial sector in India that is required to
maintain 8-10% economic growth for the world's largest democracy.
Consumers bear a large burden due to poor quality and unreliable power supply.
Industries maintain diesel-powered generators and households have inverters with
batteries as backup for unscheduled power cuts, low voltages or variable frequency.
Advanced Energy Storage systems can play a key role in every part of the modern
grid in India.The newly elected government in India has taken a number of steps in
the past couple of months to fast track development of the energy infrastructure and
set aggressive targets for continued renewable energy deployments in India.
Policymakers have taken some key initiatives that can drive grown of storage
& microgrids:
● India is looking for rapid adoption of clean energy technologies with the
anticipated addition of 30-50 GW of new wind capacity and 20-30 GW of
solar capacity by 2020.
● India has various initiatives for providing energy access where the government
of India provides up to 90% of the capital funding for building microgrids in
rural areas with no access to electricity.
● Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has mandated the use of renewable
power for telecom towers in India that are currently utilizing diesel power as a
primary source of energy.
These policy initiatives have resulted in tremendous opportunities for the integration
of energy storage technologies for a variety of applications. The advanced energy

3. storage market in India is in its infancy however it carries significant market
potential.
A recent market assessment by India Energy Storage Alliance (www.indiaesa.info)
suggests a potential of 15-20 GW by 2020 in India.Immediate applications range
from telecom tower backups to grid ancillary services and renewable integration.
The $300 Million orders during 2013 by Indian Telecom Companies for purchasing
Li-Ion batteries for telecom tower backup is a perfect example of the value
proposition of the advanced storage technologies, and willingness of Indian
businesses to adopt such technologies.
Now with the RFPs issued by PGCIL and MNRE, similar opportunities will open up
for grid-scale energy storage deployment.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.
For efficient roll out of the EV program, electrical distribution infrastructure upgrades
and smarter systems are required which will control/limit the simultaneous charging
of hundreds of EVs from the same feeder.
Beyond just timing the consumption of power, immediate policy level support is
required to build enabling infrastructure to integrate the EVs in the electrical network
so that 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. Globally Vehicle to Grid (V2G)
technologies is evolving rapidly that can achieve these objectives.
Recent India Auto Expo featured for the 1 time a pavilion dedicated to electric and
hybrid vehicles. The key challenge for making this electric mobility possible is the
advancement of cost-effective energy storage systems. The rapid advancement in
technology and the scale provided by the growing Indian market coupled with
localization potential can help drive down the cost of these emerging technologies.
The India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) was launched in 2012 to promote Energy
Storage and Micro grid technologies and their applications in India. To further the
growth of awareness about storage and the application of storage to solve electricity
system problems, we launched the knowledge Partner Network (IESA KPN) for open
and transparent information exchange.

4. In the past 6 months, the IESA network has grown rapidly and currently, more than
25 members are actively exploring opportunities for energy storage and microgrids.
These members include a good mix of energy storage technology providers, power
conversion system providers, system integrators, project developers, large users,
potential investors as well as research institutions.
IESA is a new initiative, still in infancy, but with the support of all our members and
strategic partners from around the world, we are confident that we can play a pivotal
role in this energy revolution for India in the coming decade.
India has a robust manufacturing sector and many innovative entrepreneurs who are
looking forward to forge partnerships with leading global technology companies.
Such a partnership has true potential to not only help solve the energy issues in
India but could make India a manufacturing base that can support the needs of the
global energy industry.
Become a member of the leading alliance in India focused on advanced energy storage,
green hydrogen, and e-mobility. Join IESA and become a member today.