A 350 MW solar power plant and a 175 MW/700 MWh battery energy storage system have been awarded by SJVN to Reliance Power's subsidiary Reliance NU Energies.

When the platform is put into service, Reliance Power's portfolio will include 700 MWh of BESS capacity and 600 MW of solar DC capacity.

The company is currently the biggest participant in India's integrated solar + BESS market, with 2.4 GW of solar DC capacity and more than 2.5 GWh of BESS capacity in its whole clean energy pipeline.

Reliance NU Energies had previously won the project at a fixed tariff of INR 3.33/kWh for a 25-year period after winning the competitive auction held by SJVN. Eighteen of the 19 developers who participated in the larger 1,200 MW solar plus 600 MW/2,400 MWh BESS tender made it to the final e-reverse auction. Due to increased industry interest in dispatchable renewable energy solutions, the tender was oversubscribed by more than four times.

One of the top private sector power producing firms in India is Reliance Power Ltd, which is a division of the Reliance Group. The largest integrated coal-based power plant in the world, Sasan Power Ltd., with a capacity of 3960 MW, is part of the company's 5,305 MW operating portfolio.

Reliance Power's strategic shift to renewable energy is marked by a significant increase in this allocation.

The project is a component of SJVN's bigger tender for 1,200 MW of solar electricity connected to the ISTS network, together with 600 MW/2,400 MWh of BESS.

 

Eighteen of the 19 firms that participated in the tender, which was floated by SJVN, one of the top Navratna Public Sector Enterprises, qualified for the e-reverse auction.

Due to increased industry interest in dispatchable renewable energy solutions, the tender was oversubscribed by more than four times.

A minimum four-hour daily discharge window is necessary for the awarded project to guarantee state distribution utilities (Discoms) a peak power supply. The Ministry of Power's normal bidding procedures will be followed while it is being created under a build-own-operate (BOO) structure.

In the meantime, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Reliance NU Suntech Private Ltd., a 100 percent subsidiary of Reliance Power, recently inked a final 25-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to build the biggest combined solar and BESS project in Asia.

Up to Rs.10,000 crore will be invested in the revolutionary project, which would have a 930 MW solar power capacity combined with a 465 MW/1860 MWh BESS. For the whole 25-year PPA period, the project will run at a competitive fixed pricing of Rs.3.53 per kWh, offering long-term revenue visibility.

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3,960 megawatts of Sasan Power Limited, the largest integrated coal-based power plant in the world, are part of Reliance Power's 5,305 megawatt operating portfolio.