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There have been 28 instances of loss of generation of renewable energy more than 1,000 MW since January 2022; the Central Electricity Authority blames it on non-compliance with connectivity regulations.
These ‘incidents’ are events such as over-voltage during switching operations, faults and low frequency oscillations in wind and solar farms.
On February 9, there were multiple events between 11:45 am and 12:30 pm, leading to loss of generation of 3,055 MW to 4,459 MW. On January 14, 4,600 MW of generation was lost. Between July and December 2022, there were five instances of loss of generation in Rajasthan.
Also read: India to have 41 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030, says govt
Inadequate reactive support
CEA says that the main cause of these is “inadequate reactive support” from renewable energy plants. Reactive power is the power that gets generated by some components in the grid (such as capacitors) and consumed by other components (like motors), because of power flowing from the generating source. Generating plants, like wind turbines, are expected to be able to inject reactive power into the system whenever required, which is necessary to maintain grid stability.
CEA notes that generating plants are not doing enough to provide reactive support, as they are required to. “CEA connectivity Regulations are not being complied with totally,” it says.
India has 42,868 MW of wind and 67,077 MW of solar capacity. These sources account for around 12 per cent of the electricity injected into the grid, and this is expected to go up to 35 per cent by 2027.
Wind and solar plants do not generate a steady stream of electricity, because the amount of wind flows and sunlight keep varying. This unsteady supply, or intermittency, is the biggest problem with renewable energy. This challenge will only grow bigger when wind and solar components in the energy mix rise, as planned. India intends to have 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
CEA has said that if renewable energy companies do not comply with the regulations by September 30, “the RE plants would be disconnected.”
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