ETN_IESAMagazine_Volume2Issue2_2015 (1)

EIDITORS
DESK
Energy Storage: Enabling a
decade of sustainable energy
transformation in India
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With the recent announcement from Ministry
of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) about
Expression of Interest for Energy Storage
projects to support renewable integration,
there is tremendous excitement about India’s
proposed Energy Storage Mission. India has
witnessed number of transformations in past
50 years starting with the Green Revolution
of 1960s that transformed the agricultural
practices in India. In 1970s and 80s, the “White
Revolution - Operation Flood” included the
world’s biggest dairy development program
nation to the largest milk producer in the
world within a span of 30 years. The 1990s
saw the economic reforms that opened up the
Indian economy and led to the telecom and
IT revolutions that have made India a leader
in the knowledge economy in the 2000s. This
is a decade where India needs a clean energy
revolution for transforming the electricity
infrastructure to provide energy access to
over 400 million of households that still lack
basic access to electricity.
Today, India is one of the fastest growing
economies in the world, with current electricity
peak load of ~150 GW to meet the needs of
over 1.25 Billion population. India’s per capita
annual consumption of energy at ~800 kWh
is one of the lowest in the world, even when
compared to developing countries like Brazil
and China. At the same time India currently
boasts a middle class population exceeding
300 Million (almost the size of USA) that is
looking for the same level of energy access
and power quality that is taken for granted
in developed countries through movement
towards Smart Cities. Also the lack of reliable
and quality power supply is a major obstacle
for accelerating development of manufacturing
sector in India under Indian Government’s
Make in India initiative. Consumers bear
a large burden due to poor quality and
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