JSW receives LoA from SECI for 500 MW of Standalone BESS pilot projects

JSW Renew Energy Five Limited, which had won SECI's 500MW/ 1000 MWh standalone Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) pilot projects in India, has announced that it has received official Letter of Awards (LoA) for said projects of 250 MW/500 MWH capacity each. 

SECI's obligation is limited to 60 per cent of the project capacity/ energy, while the remaining 40 percent of the BESS capacity will be managed by JSW Renew Energy Five's parent company JSW Energy Ltd. (JSWEL). 

After e-reverse auction held in August 2022, JSW won the entire capacity for the quoted value of ₹ 10,83,500 per MW per month for a period of 12 years. 

Prashant Jain, Joint MD and CEO of JSW Energy, said, "We are excited to receive the LoA for Battery Energy Storage System which marks our foray into energy storage solutions. This gives us an early mover advantage in the energy storage space", as quoted by Economic Times. 

JSW has reportedly set a target to reach 20 GW capacity of renewable energy projects by 2030, with a near term target of 10 GW by 2025. Battery energy storage systems are expected to play a key role in managing and integrating the company's renewable energy assets into the grid. 

The BESS projects will be installed in the vicinity of the Fatehgarh-III Grid-Substation of the ISTS network, in the State of Rajasthan. The buying entities will be offered the storage capacity to charge and discharge the same daily through RE power, as per their energy shifting requirements.

Scheduled commissioning of the projects should be completed within 18 months from the date of signing of the Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA), according to SECI. 

The SECI's pilot projects mark the first tranche of the Government's immediate target of setting up 4000 MWh of battery storage capacity as part of achieving increased penetration of RE in the national grid.