RUVNL Initiates Proposal to Eliminate Restrictions of Structured RE Projects with ESS

In a petition filed by the Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (RUVNL), it seeks approval for the selection of developers and procurement of bidding documents for an Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) connected energy storage solution with a capacity of 1000 MW/6000 MWh.

The proposal aspires to meet the requirements of Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited, and Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited.

The petition urges the tie-up of a substantial 1000 MW/6000 MWh per day of pump storage-based energy storage solution (long-term basis), which is linked to the Central Transmission Utility (CTU).

This comes in light of Rajasthan's intention to purchase power by way of competitive bidding from 1500 MW wind-solar hybrid projects plus storage systems.

The petition brings to light the restrictions of structured renewable energy power projects with mandatory ESS.

To address the challenge of intermittency, RUVNL recommends tying up renewable energy and ESS capacities separately. This will pave the path for inclusion of specialized participation from agencies with specialization in ESS setup.

Recognizing shortage of energy in peak hours, RUVNL, a few months ago, had introduced a separate tender process for tying up 1,000 MW ESS from pump storage hydro projects. This is in response to the deficit while also enabling flexibility with reference to scheduling as per Rajasthan's requirements for energy.

RUVNL has come up with a comprehensive bidding document given that there are no standard bidding guidelines and documents for tie-up of storage capacity from Pumped Storage Projects.  This document, says RUVNL, makes way for optimal participation and procurement at the minimum tariff to deal with peak-hour demand deficit.

The petition is yet to be passed.

Earlier, RUVNL issued a tender for 1.5 GW wind-solar hybrid projects with storage.