WSH fulfilment

Wind-solar hybrid (WSH) is fast becoming the preferred renewable energy (RE) option in India. Although the Ministry for New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has not yet set a generation target for the nascent sector, WSH has received strong support from the central public sector undertaking Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and several state governments.

SECI intends to set up 5 GW of solar and wind projects with storage under the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode over the next 10 years, adding to the country’s total of 37.69 GW of wind energy capacity and 35 GW of solar capacity as of fiscal 2020. WSH projects, which harness both solar and wind energy, are expected to account for a good chunk of the pipeline.

In January this year, SECI invited bids for 1.2 GW WSH capacity under its tranche-III tender for RE projects.

Among the states, Andhra Pradesh formulated a Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Policy in 2018 and has set a 5 GW generation target from WSH projects by 2022. Other windy states such as Gujarat and Maharashtra have also identified land parcels to develop WSH projects.

Given this, CRISIL Research estimates ~15 GW of WSH power to come up in the country over the next five years, compared with only ~100 MW today. Of this, ~10 GW is already in the works – either under construction or being tendered – and will start feeding the grid by 2024.

WSH has found favour globally, too. Among others, China, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and the US have set up such projects to unlock value from hybrids. The advantages include lower capex costs, improved power integration and matching with the demand profile of the market.