Analysis of Strategies for Integrating 175 GW of Renewable Energy in India

Integration of large scale renewables into the electrical grid is currently one of the major challenges and priorities for many countries. The Government of India (GOI) has committed to install 175 GW renewable energy (RE) by 2022. Due to favorable policies, RE capacity in India recently exceeded 60 GW, overtaking hydropower as the second largest fleet. To assess the impact of large scale RE on the power system, three studies (one national and two regional) were undertaken jointly by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Power (MOP), GOI. The studies used production cost models to simulate the Indian electricity system for each 15-minute time block of the year 2022 to understand potential future operational challenges and opportunities for more cost-effective integration. This paper is an abridged version of the national study titled, “Greening the Grid: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India’s Electric Grid, Vol. I — National Study” (June 2017). The study concluded that the integration of 175 GW of RE, equivalent to 370 TWh annual generation and 22% demand penetration, is achievable at 15-minute operational timescales with minimal RE curtailment. If the thermal fleet exploits their ramping capabilities and lower minimum generation levels, the Indian power system has sufficient flexibility to manage net load changes and RE forecast errors. Along with thermal fleet flexibility, the latent flexibility in hydroelectric generation is critical in maintaining system balance. The study analyzed integration strategies that may generate cost savings and lower RE curtailment. Coordinated scheduling across regional and national levels, which increases the size of the balancing areas, lowers RE curtailment and reduces annual production costs. Reducing the technical minimum of thermal plants has the biggest impact on reducing RE curtailment. The study’s implications to policy makers, planners, and regulators include coordinated transmission planning, better coordination among states for scheduling and dispatch, and incentives for system flexibility.