TN's first solar-powered energy storage system to come up in Dindigul

CHENNAI: In a first, Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has granted permission for the Dindigul-based Dollar Industries Ltd to set up four Mega Watt hour (MWhr) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) powered by their allied two MW Solar Power Plant for captive power adjustment during the day time and also during peak hour or night hour consumption from the storage system.

Terming the BESS to be set up by the private industry as a win-win situation for both the industry as well as Tangedco, the commission said that while the company is benefited by using stored power during the peak and night hours for their captive (own industrial use), the Tangedco is equally benefited from being relieved of their obligation to buy costly power from the market during peak hours and supplying the same to the industry.

The BESS are devices enabling energy from renewables, like solar and wind, to be stored and released when customers need power most. Lithium-ion batteries used in mobile phones and electric cars, are currently the dominant storage technology for large-scale plants to help electricity grids ensure a reliable supply of renewable energy.

The private industry, which already set up its own solar power plant for captive use, had sought permission from Tangedco to add a 2 MW solar power plant along with the 4 MWhr BESS to increase green power in its consumption pool and also to maintain the power cost competitively at its mills.

Tangedco permitted the private industry to set up solar plants with the BESS and asked to design the BESS so that it should not draw supply from the utility grid and get prior approval from the commission.

While approving the industry's plea, it said that the ambitious project to set up the BESS first-of-its-kind in the state deserves to be lauded. "The industry is permitted to adjust the stored energy exported into the grid in the respective blocks including peak hour slot," the TNERC order said.

Tangedco has an ambitious plan to set up 20,000 MW ground-mounted solar plants across the state and 10,000 MW BESS by 2030.

In the first phase, Tangedco would be establishing a 4,000 MW of solar plant and 2,000 MW BESS. As a pilot project, the utility has invited tenders for a pilot project of a one-megawatt ground-mounted solar and three MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Virudhunagar district.