India will need 200 GW per hour of battery storage by 2030 and is exploring viability gap funding for offshore wind production

India has set an ambitious target of achieving 500 gigawatt of energy production, coming from non-fossil fuels, mainly renewable energy.

According to Mr. Bhupinder Singh Bhalla, Secretary for the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), by 2030, India will require 200 GW of battery storage per hour. This would mean that in the medium to long term, the nation would need to find a fine balance between battery storage, and pump storage might serve as a temporary solution. Furthermore, he informed that in order to support the high cost of batteries, the government is working on a draft production linked incentive (PLI) scheme on battery storage.

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has been attempting to more than double the amount of electricity produced using solar and wind energy. Currently, the country has access to 172.54 GW of renewable energy, of which 67 GW comes from solar, 43 GW from wind, 51 GW from hydro, and 11 GW from biofuels. In the near future, 284 GW of electricity will be accessible, as about 66 GW is in the implementation stage and 45 GW is in the tender stage.

India's total installed capacity is expected to reach 777 GW by 2030, with more than 500 GW coming from renewable energy sources. However, storing this energy will be difficult, and the government's PLI scheme for battery storage will be essential in this regard.

Mr. Bhupinder Singh Bhalla further said that MNRE will support the green hydrogen industry in two ways. The Ministry is aiming to incentivise domestic manufacturers of electrolysers, a crucial technology for producing low-emission hydrogen from nuclear or renewable energy. Along with this, it is planning to support the production of up to 3 million tonnes of green hydrogen.

In addition, he informed that another development by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy is supporting offshore wind power production. In the Gujarat and Tamil Nadu regions, advanced research and technicalities are being developed to build up the nation's first offshore wind energy production, he highlighted.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.