E2S Power, IPCL inks MoU for development of renewable ESS
E2S Power and India Power Corporation Ltd (IPCL) have announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work closely on transforming fossil fuel power stations in India into thermal storage systems for renewable energy.
IPCL and E2S Power will work with major companies in the power and renewable energy sector in the country to identify, evaluate and offer optimized integrated thermal energy solutions for existing plants and facilities being phased out.
This collaboration will help in transforming stressed thermal power assets into clean energy storage facilities, contributing significantly to the nation's renewable portfolio, said a press statement.
The government aims to achieve 227 GW of renewable capacity by 2022, and 500 GW by 2030. At the same time, about 50 GW of coal capacity will be decommissioned in the coming years. The thermal energy storage technology developed by E2S Power offers an opportunity to provide urgently needed energy storage while using most of the infrastructure in thermal power plants.
"We are very pleased to collaborate with IPCL in India, one of the most important energy markets in the world. The growth in renewable energy capacity and opportunity to utilize valuable existing power infrastructure is a perfect fit for our thermal energy storage technology," Dr. Sasha Savic, E2S Power CEO, said in the statement.
Thermal energy storage (TES), among other available energy storage technologies, is a solution that suits the socio-economic needs of the country. TES can be used for repurposing existing assets which while giving additional life to old projects, also preserves jobs and the local transition economy. The Levelized cost of TES for 20-25 years of life is the lowest among other technology and it does not have any biohazard impact.
"We are very pleased to have technical collaboration with E2S Power in India as a future energy storage solution provider/developer by repurposing the country's stranded thermal asset and bringing value to the assets," Somesh Dasgupta, Whole-time Director, IPCL said.
