Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has deployed its first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the state, at its Mandamarri area solar plant in Telangana, to store surplus daytime solar power that was earlier being exported to the grid without revenue. The 1 MW system, integrated with a 28 MW solar plant, allows the company to store excess energy and use it during peak demand hours, especially at night, improving energy utilization and reducing costs.
Such stored energy is being utilised by the company whenever required, particularly during night times, and helping to generate financial benefits for Singareni. A 1 MW Battery Energy Storage System was established four months ago as an auxiliary facility to the 28 MW Singareni solar power plant in Mandamarri Area by investing ₹2.5 crore for the purpose.
By availing the stored energy the company has saved ₹26 lakh on energy bill during the last four months, according to officials of the SCCL. Singareni has already established solar power plants with a total capacity of 245.5 MW at eight different locations, and of them plants with a capacity of 147 MW have been categorised as Open Access Plants, while the remaining plants with a capacity of 98.50 MW have been categorised as in-house plants and connected to the Telangana power grid.
Although electricity generated from the in-house plants is connected to the grid, only the electricity consumed for local requirements is utilised, while Telangana DISCOMs won’t make any payment for the surplus electricity generated and supplied to the grid, as per the power purchase agreement. The excess electricity was being supplied to the grid free of cost and despite the supply of the thousands of units of surplus power generated daily from the in-house plants to the grid, there has been no financial returns/benefit to the company.
With the objective of deriving value even from the surplus power generated, Singareni has experimentally established a 1 MW BESS unit at the Mandamarri Plant. The 28 MW solar plant at Mandamarri has been functioning efficiently and supplying electricity required for the mines and colonies in the Mandamarri and Srirampur Areas.
By storing and deploying surplus solar power through the new BESS unit, SCCL has already saved around ₹26 lakh in electricity costs over the past four months. The initiative marks an early step in monetizing excess renewable generation and improving the economic efficiency of the company’s solar assets across its 245.5 MW installed capacity portfolio.
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