The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is exploring the possibility of transforming the Renewable Power Corporation of Kerala Ltd (RPCKL) into a ‘Kerala State Green Energy Company’ modelled on the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) for undertaking projects such as Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
The proposal is based on the contention that a CIAL-model public-private partnership entity would be better placed to implement expensive initiatives such as BESS, which otherwise may not be financially viable for the KSEB.
The proposal is part of a clutch of suggestions and plans the KSEB chairperson and managing director Biju Prabhakar has circulated among the officers’ associations of the State power utility for their feedback on the forward growth trajectory of the KSEB.
The RPCKL is a joint venture company floated by the KSEB and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in 2016 for developing solar parks in Kerala. The KSEB is eyeing BESS projects as a means to promote grid integration of renewable energy, especially Kerala’s increasing solar power capacity.
It is suggested that the Kerala State Green Energy Company can mobilise funds for implementing power sector projects through bonds and deposits from the public, KSEB employees, and high tension/extra high-tension categories of electricity consumers.
According to the document, more than ₹12,000 crore would have to be pumped in for implementing BESS with a capacity of 3,500 megawatts (MW), at ₹3.5 crore per MW. BESS projects may not be profitable for the KSEB considering this and the additional expenses such as the cost of charging rooftop solar power to BESS units. This is where the KSEB sees the relevance of a CIAL-model company such the proposed Kerala State Green Energy Company.
Published – November 29, 2024 06:41 pm IST
