Grid violation mismanagement imperils India's energy shift: NREL

28 Mar 2024 CW Team

According to NREL, the increased integration of DERs will help reduce the country's emissions and decrease costs for customers, while also enhancing the reliability of the system and creating economic opportunities for India's private sector.

NREL highlights that as more DERs are introduced, the state utilities responsible for managing India's grid must deal with potential impacts such as voltage violations and shifts in demand on the country's medium- and low-voltage distribution networks. Failing to address these changes and risks could impede the deployment of DERs and other renewable energy technologies, thereby slowing down India's overall energy transition.

Given India's aim to significantly increase wind and solar generation capacity by 2030, it is vital to monitor how the distribution system (which encompasses small-scale wind and solar generation connected to the distribution system) interacts with and supports the Indian power grid. This monitoring will enable India to achieve levels where more than 20% of instantaneous electricity generation online is supplied by DERs. Furthermore, it is anticipated that DER systems will affect the performance, reliability, and stability of the bulk power system, emphasizing the importance of well-designed, locally appropriate interconnection standards.

In response to these challenges, last year, India's Central Electricity Regulatory Commission introduced regulations to restrict frequency fluctuations within the operating band to safeguard grid security.

NREL has previously assisted the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in adopting the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1547-2018 standard in 2023. Although this represents a significant step forward, the requirements of this standard have yet to be integrated into India's grid code. NREL has provided several recommendations for seamless DER integration.

The US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has stated that India's power system must safely and successfully speed up the adoption of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) like solar, storage, and electric vehicles in order to achieve its climate and energy objectives. According to NREL, the increased integration of DERs will help reduce the country's emissions and decrease costs for customers, while also enhancing the reliability of the system and creating economic opportunities for India's private sector. NREL highlights that as more DERs are introduced, the state utilities responsible for managing India's grid must deal with potential impacts such as voltage violations and shifts in demand on the country's medium- and low-voltage distribution networks. Failing to address these changes and risks could impede the deployment of DERs and other renewable energy technologies, thereby slowing down India's overall energy transition. Given India's aim to significantly increase wind and solar generation capacity by 2030, it is vital to monitor how the distribution system (which encompasses small-scale wind and solar generation connected to the distribution system) interacts with and supports the Indian power grid. This monitoring will enable India to achieve levels where more than 20% of instantaneous electricity generation online is supplied by DERs. Furthermore, it is anticipated that DER systems will affect the performance, reliability, and stability of the bulk power system, emphasizing the importance of well-designed, locally appropriate interconnection standards. In response to these challenges, last year, India's Central Electricity Regulatory Commission introduced regulations to restrict frequency fluctuations within the operating band to safeguard grid security. NREL has previously assisted the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in adopting the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1547-2018 standard in 2023. Although this represents a significant step forward, the requirements of this standard have yet to be integrated into India's grid code. NREL has provided several recommendations for seamless DER integration.