The €6-billion Finnish power systems company, Wärtsilä, is in talks with at least half-a-dozen State power distribution companies (discoms) in India to offer its grid-balancing solutions. (A source of steady power is necessary to balance out the intermittencies of renewable energy. Wartsila, which manufactures large gensets, believes its equipment can help keep the grids stable.)
Globally, the company has been selling its balancing solutions in the US, UK, Australia and several other countries. However, the company has yet to secure any order in India.
“We are in discussion with all stakeholders in the energy sector – distribution companies, government regulators, potential investors because the whole ecosystem needs to understand that balancing technologies, which promises to enable smoother energy transition, Frederic Carron, Vice-President – Middle East and Asia, Wärtsilä Corporation, told businessline here.
Balancing solutions
The company asserts that the transition to a 100 per cent renewable energy future requires balancing solutions due to the intermittency of wind and solar. Wärtsilä’s balancing solutions will quickly ramp up whenever renewables aren’t generating enough electricity – providing the necessary balancing power to keep the grid stable.
In balancing technology, it offers two solutions – first, grid balancing gas engine power plants, which provide balancing on an hourly, daily, weekly, and seasonal basis with no minimum uptime or downtime. Secondly, energy storage, which provides minute-to-hour balancing of the power systems, sometimes load shifting too.
Several States in India have been facing renewable energy curtailment challenges and hence the clean energy sector is unable to generate to its full capacity. For example, Tamil Nadu has a significant share of renewable capacity and generation, and the government has a clear plan to have more share of renewables. But the industry faces curtailment issues and the State is unable to use the full available capacity, said Goran Richardsson, Energy Business Director – South Asia, Wärtsilä Energy, Wärtsilä Finland Oy.
State discoms
Wärtsilä is engaged in talks with discoms of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, to offer its balancing solutions.
States such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu could save about ₹4.6 crore, ₹3.2 crore, and ₹7 crore per day respectively by introducing balancing solutions, according to the company’s 2021 study, which was done jointly with KPMG.
“Our immediate term focuses on explaining to the energy sector stakeholders in India about the need and the value of balancing technology. It needs to be planned in advance to mitigate integration challenges,” said Carron.
Its engine power plants already use 100 per cent synthetic and carbon-neutral methane and methanol. They are also capable of using hydrogen/natural gas blends containing up to 25 per cent hydrogen. The company is developing a full-scale 100 per cent hydrogen plant design in 2025 and a 100 per cent hydrogen pilot in 2026.
Wärtsilä has more than 600 employees in India and delivered around 430 power plants to India with a total output of over 4,000 MW. The company, which has been operating in India since the 1980s, has been providing complete lifecycle power solutions for the Indian energy and marine markets. It takes care of the operation and management on behalf of its customers across the country.