India could turn to 12.5GW gas capacity to meet peak demand

This also comes as the market waits until battery storage becomes cost-competitive.

India could utilise 12.5 gigawatts of gas capacity to meet peak demand and maintain grid stability, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reported. 

Gas-fired power plants could serve as a flexible generation whilst the market works to scale up battery storage and make it more cost-competitive. 

“Energy storage will be critical to managing higher levels of renewable generation,” Purva Jain, Energy Analyst and Guest Contributor at IEEFA, said. 

“To tide over the period until storage options become more widely available and affordable in India, some existing gas-based power plants could be used to serve the peak demand or provide grid-balancing ancillary services.”

Read more: India could raise RE capacity by about 24GW with wind energy

She noted, however, that gas supply should be used only in sectors that have no competitive alternatives. 

India’s 24.9GW of gas-based power plants are either stranded or operating at sub-optimal levels due to the shortage of affordable fuel, According to the IEEFA.

Of these, 31 gas-based power plants, which account for a total of 14.3GW capacity, are completely stranded. This locked in some $6.3b in bank funding.