Bihar Advances Energy Storage with 2,500 MWh Battery Project

Bihar has taken an important initiative in the development of energy storage. The exercise to develop 2 thousand 500 MWh energy storage system in the state has intensified. In this, a tender has been issued for developing 500 MWh battery energy storage system.

State Energy Minister Mr. Bijendra Prasad Yadav has currently met Union Energy Minister Mr. Manohar Lal Khattar and handed over a letter to him to seek cooperation related to setting up 2000 MWh battery energy storage system.

Energy Minister Mr. Yadav has informed that earlier in Bihar, work has been started on the development of the country's largest battery energy storage system of total 495 MWh capacity along with two large solar power generation projects of 301 MW at Kajra in Lakhisarai.

The 500 MWh battery energy storage system project in the state will help in meeting the increasing electricity demand in the state, especially during peak hours.

To meet the rapidly increasing demand of electricity in the state and to provide cheap electricity to the people, the Energy Department has started a new initiative for the development of electricity storage system. Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said that this initiative of battery energy storage system is the result of the far-sighted thinking of Honorable Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, through which today we will not only provide uninterrupted electricity to the people of the state even after sunset, but will also be successful in empowering them economically by giving cheap electricity. Giving high priority to the importance of development of battery energy storage system, the Bihar government approved the project of 500 MWh battery energy storage system on the land of the state's grid sub-stations, after which tender has also been issued for the selection of its implementation agency.

12 big companies of the country participated in the pre-tender meeting organized for this project and expressed their interest in the implementation of the project. Tata Power, JSW Energy, Schneider Electric, Avada Company and Pace Power are prominent in the list of these companies. This project will be implemented through tariff based competitive tendering process. Through this process, not only will the rate of stored electricity be very cheap, but the project construction work will also be completed in a very short time. It is worth mentioning that there will be no additional financial burden on the state government in the construction of this project.

A maximum of 30 percent of the total cost or Rs 27 lakh per megawatt hour will be provided by the Central Government under Viability Gap Funding Scheme. The remaining 70 percent amount will be borne by the storage system developer agency. In the first phase, this project will be set up on the vacant land available in the total 16 identified grid sub-stations of the state, so that the rate of stored electricity is not high.

In the first phase, a total of Rs 135 crore will be given to the developer agencies for 500 megawatt hours in 5 installments for project implementation in the identified grid sub-stations. The period for completion of the project is 18 months. After the completion of the project, the concerned agencies will be given an agreement for operation and storage for at least the next 12 years. The battery energy storage system project will help Bihar to meet the demand for electricity during peak hours. Under this, the excess electricity available during the day can be stored through this new system.

It is worth mentioning that the cost of purchasing electricity during peak hours is quite high, due to which the electricity distribution companies have to provide electricity at expensive rates. For this reason, this project will not only ensure the availability of electricity even after sunset during peak hours, but consumers will also get cheap electricity. This project will be successful in fulfilling the Renewable Purchase Obligation for purchasing new and renewable energy.

It is worth noting that new projects are being constructed on a large scale for the production of solar energy in Bihar. So far, the availability of 1920 MW solar energy has been ensured in the state. In such a situation, the development of battery energy storage system under this project will not only facilitate the availability of electricity to the people of the state, but will also be financially beneficial for the distribution companies. Honorable Energy Minister Shri Yadav has expressed gratitude to the Central Government for providing prompt support to this ambitious project.