Energy Storage in South Asia: Understanding the Role of Grid-Connected Energy Storage in South Asia’s Power Sector Transformation

Abstract

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Power Sector Decarbonization in South Asia: Pathways for Research, Modeling, and Implementation

“…Emerging low-cost energy storage from lithium-ion battery technologies has the potential to offset the need for new investments in fossil-fueled capacity. In India, for example, NREL's recent study showed that 4-hour duration storage devices could provide about 70 GW of reliable capacity at 100% capacity credit in 2030 (Chernyakhovskiy et al 2021). The same study also demonstrated the potential risk of excluding the capacity contribution of energy storage in the planning process.…”

“…In addition to system-wide evolution, technologies such as energy storage in the form of batteries will necessitate innovation to planning and operating processes. Several studies have identified India as a potentially large market for energy storage (Chernyakhovskiy et al 2021;Abhyankar, Deorah, and Phadke 2021), and some local systems have started to emerge (Tata Power 2021). However, several questions about the optimal use of these systems, the value that they provide, and their interdependence on renewable energy, remain.…”

“…Additional work on cross-border electricity trade in the region helped clarify how India's renewable energy ambitions would impact regional opportunities (McBennett et al 2019;Joshi, Hurlbut, and Palchak 2020). And several studies of the next phase of policy targets for 2030 have shed light on what additional planning and operational challenges may be faced in the coming years (CEA 2018;Abhyankar, Deorah, and Phadke 2021;Rose et al 2020;Chernyakhovskiy et al 2021).…”

“…NREL's study on energy storage in South Asia explored several potential future grids, one being a future grid with a constraint to build no new coal-and gas-fired capacity past 2023 (Chernyakhovskiy et al 2021). 6 While this is not current policy or meant to indicate that this is an optimal policy, it is indicative of what the system needs are if the grid were to be powered exclusively by zero-carbon sources.…”

“…As the renewable energy requirement approaches 100%, the marginal cost of CO2 abatement rises nonlinearly to over 10 times the abatement cost at 80% renewable energy. This is largely due to the mismatch, both Source: (Chernyakhovskiy et al 2021) diurnal and seasonal, of supply from variable renewable energy and patterns of demand. Several alternative solutions have been proposed, including biomass, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen combustion turbines, multiday demand response, and negative emissions technologies like biomass with carbon capture and storage, although the commercial viability of these alternatives is not yet fully understood.…”