Government might ease grid connectivity for non-solar hours

05 Aug 2024 CW Team

The government is evaluating a proposal to reallocate the electrical grid capacity assigned to solar power producers without storage systems during non-solar hours. The proposal suggests that this capacity should be used primarily for power input through storage by existing or other generators.

Discussions are underway to limit the grid connectivity of solar power plants without storage systems to solar hours only, instead of the entire day. This change would free up the grid during non-solar hours, allowing for additional electricity to be introduced into the system, mainly through energy storage solutions.

Currently, under general network access norms, solar generators are allocated connectivity for the entire day. However, these projects only utilise the connectivity during solar hours, leaving it idle during the rest of the day. To address this, the central transmission utility plans to provide substation-wise availability information to all agencies responsible for auctions of renewable energy capacities, aiming to make better use of the underutilised grid during non-solar hours.

At present, approximately 71 GW of solar capacity is connected to the grid. Of this total, standalone solar projects connected to inter-state transmission lines that contribute power only during solar hours represent around 23 GW, according to another official.

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