From 4 to 6 March 2020, the EU hosted an EU Pavilion at the exhibition part of ISUW 2020, which was organized under the Clean Energy and Climate Partnership Project in close coordination with The Business Support to the EU-India Policy Dialogues project. The EU pavilion showcased EU technologies, solutions and advancements in the field of Smart Utilities. The EU pavilion was inaugurated on 4 March by Hon’ble Secretary Sanjiv N. Sahai, Ministry of Power, Government of India and H.E. Mr. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador to the EU Delegation in India.

As part of the pavilion, the panel discussion on “Doing business in the renewable energies and smart grids sectors in India” was held on 6 March. The session addressed opportunities and specific challenges in India, strongly growing niche markets and possibilities to encourage foreign direct investment in this field. During the discussion, which was moderated by Ms. Judith Weinberger-Singh from the European Business & Technology Centre (EBTC), Mr. Divay Pranav, Invest India looked at battery storage and explained that the policy and regulatory framework in India are yet to be established for financially compensating services that energy storage systems can provide to the grid. Mr. Debmalya Sen from the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) said that they have worked with clients in India who were looking to install battery storage devices to offset the peak power expenditure as well as the additional expense due to time of day tariffs in various parts of the country. Furthermore, he stated that as the markets mature, the second life use of Li-Ion batteries will start to emerge, further driving down the cost of deployment of grid storage technologies. 

Mr. Tobias Winter, IGEF-SO highlighted that diesel-based generator back-up power of approximately more than 100 GW in India presents a huge opportunity for battery storage companies to start tapping into the Indian market. He also pointed out that the electricity markets in India are still highly regulated with little private sector involvement in the distribution sector. High-level policy discussions between India and EU members suggest to set up a roadmap for the turnaround of electricity markets in India. Developed markets have provided consumers to choose between various energy providers at one location; India might also want to allow more competition in the distribution sector and offer a new tariff for electricity coming from 100% renewable energy generation. 

This article is based on the Report on EU-India Energy Week by EU-India Clean Energy & Climate Partnership (CECP).