Specialist
Senior executive at SunSource Energy Pvt Ltd
Agenda
- Clean energy capacity targets and domestic capability to meet them
- Supply chain development outlook given battery component importation
- Utility-scale battery economics, major offtakers and project returns
Questions
1.
I understand India’s target is 450GW of clean energy capacity by 2030. How much supporting storage capacity do you think will be needed to provide appropriate grid stability and maintain frequency control?
2.
How would you compare the economic feasibility of major developments in the utility-scale storage market vs transitioning to hybrid energy generation, so combining solar and hydro or solar and wind projects instead of having batteries?
3.
I understand there are two mega tenders for mega-scale battery parks at Kutch and Ladakh, and if they were built out, they would be the largest battery facilities globally. Would you say there’s capability domestically to support the development of battery farms of this scale?
4.
How do you think issues regarding land acquisition and transmission line capacity could impact the battery project cost as well as the buildout timelines? Could it cause significant variance?
5.
If storage is meant to help push renewables to replace thermal and fossil fuel capacity in the energy mix long term, how would you compare the end cost of electricity from renewables plus storage to standalone thermal-generated electricity?
6.
How do you think energy storage regulations need to develop to streamline the buildout of utility-scale battery capacity, given the size of the tenders we’ve noted?
7.
How much of the key components of finished utility-scale batteries is actually imported into India? Do you expect that to be a major cost burden for project owners?
8.
Which parts of the battery supply chain do you think could eventually be onshored to India, if all battery components are being imported? Solar panels were typically imported and now some domestic manufacturing capacity is being built out, so do you expect something similar for certain battery components?
9.
What is the revenue model for utility-scale batteries? How do you expect battery project owners to be compensated? What sort of rate might they get per kilowatt-hour, if there will be a fixed-rate tariff system at all?
10.
Do you think the main offtaker for energy storage projects will be the government and state utilities or could the C&I [commercial and industrial] segment become an attractive customer segment for battery owners?
11.
Do you think fixed-rate offtakes will be the majority source of revenue for battery project owners, or are other potential revenue sources available? Energy arbitrage or power trading as well as frequency control and ancillary services for the grid are some possibilities.
12.
What is the landed cost per megawatt of utility-scale batteries in India? How do you expect that to trend over the next 3-5 years given the capacity buildout we’d expect over the medium term?
