In the present scenario of electricity demand, the Electrical Utilities/DISCOM needs to balance energy supplies and demand gaps during peak and off-peak durations. However, the storage of electricity has been relatively complex and expensive. The increased penetration of renewable energy sources i.e Solar and Wind, which are weather dependent, the complexity of the electrical grid, is increasing and the stability of electrical grid is becoming utmost critical. This is making energy storage essential for Central Transmission Utilities (CTUs) and State Transmission Utilities (STUs). Battery energy storage system (BESS) has emerged as one of the most promising near-term storage technologies for power & energy applications, offering a wide range of power system applications such as frequency regulation, spinning reserve, ramp control and power curve smoothing. Batteries are being one of the most cost-effective energy storage options available, which stores electrical energy electrochemically. The battery system is made up of a set of low voltage/power battery modules connected in series and/or parallel to achieve a desired electrical characteristic. Some of the key factors of batteries for storage applications include: high energy density, round trip efficiency and long battery life using advance battery chemistry.

Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is gaining popularity in India`s Renewable Energy Market and CEL, eyeing this business opportunity has installed 500kWh: 1MW Li-Ion Battery Energy Storage System to demonstrate its technical competency. The project is first of its kind in India and has a distinction of India’s First MW scale BESS integrated with Solar. The BESS in CEL is integrated with all Solar Power Plant installed in CEL and also with the exiting Diesel Generators (DGs). The battery bank is of suitable capacity as per the load requirement of CEL for storing the energy generated by various Solar Power Plant installed at CEL will also have a smart battery management system along with micro grid controller to monitor, communicate and regulate the charging & discharging of battery banks as per the load requirements.