Hero Future Energies (HFE), the renewable energy venture of Hero Group, was declared the winner of the auction conducted by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEBL) for the construction of a 10 MW/20 MWh, grid-connected battery energy storage system in the state.

The 10 MW project will be HFE’s maiden utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) project.

O2 Power and Tata Power were the other bidders in the auction conducted by KSEBL.

Hero Future Energies will have 15 months from the date of signing of the agreement to commission the energy storage project.

Speaking with Mercom, Arun Tripathi, Head of Hero Future Group’s Energy Business, Regulatory, and EHS (environment, health, and safety), said, “Energy storage is critical for distribution companies (DISCOMs) to manage their peak demand and reduce the demand-side management (DSM) besides augmenting the share of renewables in the energy mix. As India strives to achieve 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030, storage will have a prominent role to play, and accordingly, it is integral to our growth plans at HFE.”

He added, “The 10 MW/20 MWh project in Kerala is a key milestone for us and will enable us to execute similar projects in the storage domain as they become the norm in the days to come.”

According to the terms in the tender, KSEBL will be responsible for providing land near its substation on a lease basis for deploying the project.

India has witnessed a rise in demand for battery energy storage systems in the past two years. Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) earlier this year issued a request for selection (RfS) to set up pilot projects of 500 MW/1,000 MWh standalone BESS under a build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) model.

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) also issued an invitation for bids for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of a grid-connected BESS with 10 MW/40 MWh rated AC discharge capacity at a 33 kV switchgear interconnection point in Telangana’s Ramagundam.

HFE has been making significant advancements to establish cleaner and greener operations for various sectors to adopt. The company recently partnered with the U.S.-based electrolyzer producer Ohmium International to install 1 GW of green hydrogen production sites in India, the United Kingdom, and Europe.