GE’s energy consulting business has been chosen by IL&FS Energy Development Co. Ltd. to examine the feasibility of integrated wind, solar and energy storage projects at sites in Ramagiri (Andhra Pradesh) and Nana Layja (Gujarat), India.
Last year, says GE, at the U.S.-India Business Council Summit, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and President Barack Obama outlined numerous trade and investment initiatives with India. Included in the plans was an initiative to invest nearly $2 billion for priority renewable energy projects in the country.
GE, which expects to complete the project this summer, says this announcement builds on that initiative.
IL&FS Energy is a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd., one of the largest independent wind power producers in India. In 2015, IL&FS Energy signed a grant agreement with the USTDA to undertake a techno-economic feasibility study to investigate how it can best integrate wind and solar photovoltaic installations with energy storage solutions to create dispatchable, utility-scale renewable energy projects.
As a part of the study, GE says it will design an integrated wind, solar and energy storage plant; estimate its capital and operating costs; and develop a business plan that includes the viability gap funding that will be required for the commercialization of the project.
“By taking a look at the impact of renewable integration with energy storage systems on India’s power grid, we can provide valuable information to help the country best design its future grid,” says Sundar Venkataraman, technical director for GE’s energy consulting business.
