Power dept signs MoU to implement Battery Energy Storage System as pilot project

Kolkata: To implement Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) as a pilot project, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the state Power department and The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) on Thursday at Vidyut Unnayan Bhavan in Salt Lake. Apart from the MoU, the first project inception meeting was also held.

According to the Power department officials, to meet the demand of future electric based-vehicles, this project is essential. The project has been structured into two phases, with a total duration of 3 years to constitute the research work and develop the guidelines thereafter.

In the first phase, guidelines would be developed on battery system sizing and placement, control architecture, customisation, feasibility assessment and project realisation. A comprehensive module would also be developed to assist various utilities of the Power department, including West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL), in determining application-specific optimum battery capacity and levelled cost of storage. Phase II aims to facilitate integration of a BESS as a pilot installation at the distribution level and assist the distribution utility in implementation of the pilot project.

The locations of such centers could be Salt Lake, New Town, Howrah, Naredrapur-Garia belt and a few others where rapid urbanisation is

taking place.

"We believe that such battery energy storage solutions could be an exciting and game-changing innovation that could be effectively utilised in urban areas, especially where a huge amount of distributed solar rooftop systems & electric vehicles are going to be integrated within the distribution network. BESS will enable Discoms to manage their grid more effectively and provide quality & reliable power to their consumers through localized control" said Alekhya Datta, Fellow & Area Convenor of TERI.