Techno-Economic Analysis and Sensitivity Assessment of Battery Energy Storage for Utility-Scale Solar Integration in the Indian Power Grid

Author

Sanjeev Kumar, Dr. Samit Tiwari


Abstract

 As India rapidly expands it solar capacity, the value of energy storage becomes increasingly vital. This study analyzes a 100 MW utility-scale solar plant, coupled with a 50 MW/200 MWh LiFePO4 battery energy storage system (BESS) within the Indian power system. The evaluation utilizes a variety of engineering and financial analysis techniques including annual energy balance, battery degradation, component replacement, net present value (NPV), internal rate of return, levelized cost of storage (LCOS), and benefit-cost ratio (BCR), alongside sensitivity analyses. The 100 MW solar plant, with a 22% capacity factor, produces 192.72 GWh of energy in annually. With the BESS integration, 59.40 GWh of energy is charged and discharged at 88% round-trip efficiency, resulting in a storage energy loss is 7.13 GWh. The BESS aids in storing excess solar energy and delivering up to 185.59 GWh of renewable energy, thus reducing baseline curtailment by 23.13 GWh and utilizing 96.3% of the gross solar generation. Financially, under base-case assumptions, total project cost is INR 620 crore, first year revenues are INR 97.50 crore, NPV is INR 142.00 crore, IRR is 11.9%, the BCR is 1.19, LCOS is INR 7.25/kWh. Ultimately, Senior debt acquisition and storage bankability depend on monetizing peak and balancing storage services as well as curtailment avoidance.



Keywords

Battery energy storage system (BESS), solar PV, Techno-economic analysis, LCOS, Sensitivity analysis, Indian power grid, Renewable energy integration



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References


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