Centre approves Rs 3,760 cr viability gap funding for creating battery energy storage system
Focusing on reducing carbon emissions and reducing dependency on fossil fuel, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 3,760 crore for the viability gap funding scheme for developing a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Addressing the media at a press conference after the Union Cabinet Meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “The government has set a target that by 2030 we will have 50 percent of the requirement fulfilled through non-fossil and renewable energy. Towards this, the government is serious and we have achieved a number of targets before time, and today a big decision has been taken in that direction.”
He said, “For the Battery Storage System, a viability gap funding scheme has been approved, and over Rs 3,760 crore will be spent. By bringing this scheme, it will increase the capacity. It will be a 100 percent Central grant.” Highlighting the benefits of the BESS, Thakur said that electricity demands change as per the needs. “If the electricity is produced in surplus, then it cannot be stored as of now. Thus to make the storage capacity, this scheme has been brought up. We don’t have the capacity as of now. After the scheme is launched, 4,000 MW hours of battery storage will be prepared,” the Minister said.
He said that the scheme envisages the development of 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31, with the financial support of up to 40 percent of the capital cost as budgetary support. The Minister also said that 85 percent of the production will be given to the discoms first and after the discoms requirements are fulfilled, then it can be given to other consumers. “When this battery energy system is developed, it will be used during the peak hours. Carbon emissions will be reduced and the dependency on fossil fuel will also be reduced,” he said. He also said that the government has achieved many new milestones in many sectors in the last nine years, one of them is in the field of renewable energy and the energy transition phase. He said that in renewable energy, solar capacity, which was 2.6 GW in 2014 has increased to 71 GW, while wind energy, which was 21 GW in 2014, is now at 40 GW.
