GoodEnough Energy has announced plans to launch India’s first battery energy storage gigafactory in Jammu and Kashmir by October. The facility aims to reduce over 5 million tons of carbon emissions annually, supporting India’s goal of achieving net zero by 2070.
This reduction is equivalent to the Indian Railway’s annual carbon reduction target of 4 million tonnes.
With an initial investment of $18.07 million, the 7 GWH plant will see a further 3 billion rupees injected by 2027 to scale up to 20 GWH, Reuters quoted the founder Akash Kaushik as saying.
These projects are crucial for India’s target to reach 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 from the current 178 GW. The government is offering incentives worth $452 million to promote battery storage initiatives, facilitating the storage and utilization of energy from various renewable sources like solar and wind.
The company is currently in the process of establishing its plant, aiming for operational readiness by October of this year, with an initial manufacturing capacity for battery energy storage systems (BESS) set at 7GWh per annum.
During an event unveiling its BESS technology, Kaushik told PTI that the company has invested Rs 160 crore thus far in developing a BESS manufacturing facility capable of producing 7GWh.
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Kaushik further outlined the company‘s plans, detailing a proposed investment of Rs 450 crore to expand the BESS manufacturing facility to achieve a total capacity of 20GWh per annum by 2026.
The Gigafactory aims to establish a fully integrated ecosystem, facilitating the production of advanced battery energy storage systems to empower various industries in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
On Tuesday, the company announced the largest Gigafactory in the presence of Dinesh Jagdale, Joint Secretary of New & Renewable Energy, and Rahul Walawalkar, President of the India Energy Storage Alliance.
Kaushik highlighted the significant improvement in BESS pricing, now at Rs 3 per KWh/unit, making it comparable to other fossil-fuel based electricity sources.
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He emphasized the environmental impact, noting that a 125KVA generator consuming 60 litres of diesel daily for two hours results in CO2 emissions of 180 kg. Similarly, each electricity unit (kWh) from a diesel generator or coal plant produces one kilogram of CO2.