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Economy, Polity & Governance
Mahesh

04/04/23 22:25 PM IST

National Electricity Plan (2022-27)

In News
  • A new blueprint for the country’s power sector planners - the National Electricity Plan (NEP) 2022-27 - marks a discernible reversal in the policy thrust from its last edition.
National Electricity plan
  • The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) must create a National Electricity Plan in line with the National Electricity Policy, according to the Electricity Act 2003, to –
  • Create short-term (every 5-year) and perspective plans (15 years)
  • Analyse the need for planning capacity expansion
  • Coordinate the efforts of different planning agencies to ensure that resources are used optimally
  • Support the needs of the country’s economy.
  • The 1st National Electricity Plan was published in 2007, the 2nd in 2013, and the third (2018) includes the detailed Plan for 2017–22 and the perspective Plan for 2022–27.
  • A projected battery storage requirement in 2031-32 of between 51 GW to 84GW with a daily usage rate of 5-hours.
  • Estimated to be Rs 10 crore per MW, this could translate into investments into battery storage between Rs 5 - 8 lakh crore over the next ten years as backup for renewable capacity.
  • Battery Energy Storage systems (BESS) especially based on Lithium - ion batteries are one of the storage options.
  • The cost of the BESS is reducing in an unprecedented way making it one of the preferred options for deployment.
  • BESS has various advantages of balancing the grid against load fluctuations, intermittency in generation etc.
  • Energy storage can provide energy time-shifting which can be useful with the large-scale deployment of variable renewable energy sources.
  • The hybrid generation models. This will basically perform solar energy shifts and provide backup power.
  • The water-based systems, where no barrage on the river is required (economical).
  • During charging the water is lifted to the reservoir and during discharge the water generates electricity.
Challenges
  • The continued reliance on old, inflexible coal-fired plants for base load capacity.
  • India’s vast fleet of coal-fired thermal power plants of 200 MW series are more than 25 years old, run-on old technology and do not promise robust reliability.
  • Lack of clarity on how the renewables-dominated grid will be actually managed, despite a pronounced reliance on renewable generation for meeting capacity additions.
  • The inertia, which imparts stability to the grid, has been declining due to poor progress of hydro power and zero inertia solar generators
  • There is also no assessment of ramping rate for thermal plants under various scenarios of solar generation going out.
  • If battery storage is to be relied on, the total fund requirement for the period 2022-27 is estimated to be 14.30 lakh crore.
Source- Indian Express

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