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New Delhi, Oct 17
Emphasising that India needs to move away from costly Lithium-based battery storage, Power Minister R K Singh on Monday pointed out that the world’s third largest energy consumer needs to focus on alternate technologies including pumped hydro
In his inaugural address at a conference organised by industry chamber CII, Singh stressed that if the world is serious about greening the planet, then the answer lies in cheaper storage technologies.
“Guess, which country has tied up 89 per cent of the current mining capacity in Lithium? One country. So, we are also trying to tie-up for some sources as well. But, we need to move away from Lithium. So, that’s a problem for the world and we need to work on that. We need to develop alternate chemistries,” the Minister pointed out without naming China.
Costly battery storage
Without storage, solar and wind energy cannot be provided round-the-clock, but it is expensive. India recently finalised one of the world’s largest bid for storage of 1,000 MWp. The rate which was discovered was ₹10 per kilowatt hour, whereas in India the cost of producing solar power is just ₹2.30-2.40 per unit.
“We will bring down the storage costs. Right now, most of the storage capacities are concentrated in one country. We need to diversify our supply chain. We will come out with a PLI scheme for manufacturing of grid scale battery storage.
Pumped Hydro
Pumped hydroelectric storage stocks power through two interconnected reservoirs with one at a higher altitude than the other. Singh said the government is serious about pumped hydro and will soon bring a policy on the same.
“So, we surveyed all the sites for pumped hydro in the country, and we are going to exploit each and every site. Pumped hydro is cheaper than battery. It will last 40-50 years, whereas a battery has to be phased out in 10 years max. You can re-process the Lithium, but it’s expensive. We are going to come out with a policy for pumped hydro,” he added.
“If we are serious about greening the planet, then we have to address the problem of storage. There has to be a determination. We have to go green without relying on Carbon credits. Because we will be spending money if we rely on carbon credits. Carbon credits are not the best way,” he stressed.
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