ABSTRACT
The rapid growth of renewable energy (RE) amplified by global as well as national policy push and technology improvements has brought about massive change in the Indian national grid. RE generation is predominantly intermittent and seasonal, which necessitates the use of energy storage to supply reliable energy when needed. This chapter focuses on bridging the gap between energy storage system (ESS) technologies and its outlook to India's short- to long-term energy transition goals. There are evolving energy storage technologies in use today, predominantly thermal, electrochemical, and mechanical storage. Given this, various policy mandates are studied supporting ESS implementation in India. Further various technology characteristics along with their applications are mapped as India swiftly transitions to renewable-dominated grids. Role of thermal power repurposing through ESS is discussed, given the great opportunity for India's ageing coal fleet. It is observed that ESS in India has a huge opportunity but lacks implementation appetite due to policy convergence and lack of financial viability. To strengthen this, policy recommendations are drawn to strengthen the implementation of ESS in context of India's electricity transition to achieve net zero.
