Tata Power-DDL, CEEW Ink Pact to Accelerate RE in Delhi’s Micro-Grids

In order to evaluate and accelerate the integration of decentralised renewable energy into Delhi’s power grid, TATA Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (Tata Power-DDL or TP-DDL) has entered into an MoU with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), which is among South Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research organisation.

As per the MoU signed, both the entities will do joint research on the impact of increased solar rooftop deployment on the quality of power supply, determining optimum rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) share at the distribution transformer-level and techno-economic feasibility of agricultural solar micro-grids, said TP-DDL which distributes power to a populace of more than 7 million in Delhi.

Also, the research findings will provide TP-DDL, which is an arm of Tata Power Company, with an implementable plan to meet a portion of its future electricity needs using solar power and other Distributed Energy Resources (DER) technologies.

Commenting on the MoU signed, TATA Power-DDL, CEO, Sanjay Banga said, “This collaboration with CEEW will strengthen the operational performance of our power network further and help overcome the existing challenges in rooftop deployment, DER technologies, Demand Response, Energy Efficiency and Grid Level Storage to meet the future power requirements.”

Besides, the two organisations will also assess the impact of air pollution on the life of power distribution assets and their operational performance. The assets will be evaluated on the basis of their maintenance and replacement history along with prospective measurement of air pollution in areas where degradation is likely to be higher, the distribution company said in a statement.

Moreover, the collaboration between the two entities will also help in achieving Delhi’s 1 GW targets of solar generation by 2020 and 2 GW by 2025, in accordance with the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (DERC) guidelines for the implementation of group net metering and virtual net metering framework.

“Delhi’s discoms have been at the forefront of bringing the clean energy transition closer to communities. This collaboration with TATA Power-DDL will help us accelerate the deployment of renewables into the grid while taking into account the associated challenges to ensure seamless integration with the existing power system. Solar rooftops and solar micro-grids, if designed well, could both emerge as affordable, reliable, and clean sources of power for residential and agricultural consumers in the coming years,” said Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW.

Published with permission from Saur Energy