ADB, TATA Power Sign Deal to Enhance Delhi’s Power Distribution.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) have entered into an agreement to enhance Delhi’s power distribution. ADB will subscribe to non-convertible debentures for Rs. 1.5 billion for grid enhancements, and a $2 million grant to partially finance the purchase and integration of a pilot battery energy storage system (BESS).

The grant to finance the BESS is provided by Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF) and administered by ADB.

The senior secured financing will be used to commission a new 66/11-kilovolt grid, augment and expand transformers, substations, feeder lines, and switching stations, install smart meters, and replace obsolete electrical equipment and meters.

The 10-megawatt-hour (MWh) BESS is South Asia’s first grid-scaled energy storage project at the distribution transformer level. It will enable electricity to be stored and delivered on demand, reducing grid instability, and providing the flexibility to integrate intermittent solar and wind energy resources.

“Power distribution is a crucial link in the electricity supply chain, and at times one of the most vulnerable. Mainstreaming a battery energy storage system at the distribution transformer level will better integrate renewable energy sources and contribute to a more disaster-resilient power distribution system for Delhi,” said ADB’s Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury.

ET