Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES)
The initiative intends to identify suitable noval energy storage technologies, analyze their techno commercial feasibility, demonstrate their capabilities and characteristics, validate their performance and subsequently adopt the same on a commercial scale if found to be commercially viable in a long-term business scenario.
Rationale
Long-duration energy storage is the key to enabling large-scale RE integration into the power system. In the recent years, the load profiles have become more variable, with sharper morning and evening peak. On the supply side, the growth of Variable Renewable Energy (VREs) further enhances the intermittency in generation. The time varying mismatch between electricity supply and demand is a growing challenge for the electricity market. This difference will be exacerbated with the fast-growing renewable energy penetration to the grid due to its inherent volatility. Presently available energy storage solutions have their limitations of high discharge rate, long duration storage ,environmental concerns, geographical constraints etc. This imbalance in demand and supply along with the limitations of presently available storage solutions has entailed the need of long duration and bulk energy storage system.
Brief About the Works being carried out
Keeping this quest in mind, ET&PR division took initiative to explore novel long duration energy storage solutions under development across the globe such as gravity storage, CO2 battery, air battery, advanced compressed air energy storage, liquid air energy storage, high density pump hydro etc. Accordingly, an expression of interest (EOI) for setting up a pilot project for Long Duration Energy Storage System (LDESS) was published by NTPC recently.
Future Prospects
The initiative intends to identify suitable novel energy storage technologies, analyze their techno-commercial feasibility, demonstrate their capabilities and characteristics, validate their performance and subsequently adopt the same on a commercial scale if found to be techno-commercially viable in a long-term business scenario. Adoption of suitable long duration energy storage system can help in providing cost effective round the clock green power in the future scenario.