India seeks Germany’s help for grid integration of renewable power

India has sought Germany's cooperation for grid integration of renewable energy, including solar rooftop power in urban areas, even as the country aims to add 25 GW (25,000 MW) of renewable energy capacity in the 12th Plan period (2012-17).

The 12th Plan proposes to add 30 GW of renewable energy capacity, of which 25 GW is expected to come from wind and solar energy, R P Watal, secretary ministry of new and renewable energy, said while inaugurating a workshop on `Grid Integration of Renewable Energy & Rooftop Solar in Urban Areas.'

The one-day workshop has  been organised in New Delhi in collaboration with the German government.

Wind and solar are location-specific and are not distributed uniformly and hence is mostly absorbed within the area or the state where it is generated because of grid integration issues.

Germany is offering India a soft credit of up to €1 billion (Rs7,100 crore) and has signed a joint declaration of intent on renewable energy collaboration during prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to that country on 11 April 2013.

India has achieved grid connectivity of 27 MW of renewable energy till February 2013, according to Alok Srivastava, joint secretary to the ministry of renewable energy.

He said Germany possesses advanced technology in grid integration of renewable energy and India is seeking Germany's cooperation to bring that technology to India.

India's Solar Energy Centre has, meanwhile, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Fraunhofer Institute of Germany for cooperation and exchanges in various areas, including solar photovoltaics, solar thermal systems, hydrogen and fuel cells during the prime minister's recent visit to Germany.

Besides, the two countries are engaged in a policy dialogue under the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF), which is being coordinated by the Indian ministry of power and Germany's federal ministry of economics and technology.

The IGEF has set up an `Excellence Enhancement Centre' for bilateral cooperation for sharing of best practices in the area of enhancing efficiency of thermal plants and is opening a support office in New Delhi.

The two sides also plan private sector participation on an even greater degree at the 6th Indo-German Energy Forum scheduled for the first quarter of 2014 in New Delhi.

The two countries plan to continue and expand the ongoing political dialogue to include projects in the field of enhancing efficiency of thermal power plants, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The ministry of renewable energy in cooperation with Indo-German Energy Forum and Shakti Suatainable Energy Foundation, a non-profit, independent, donor organisation, is working on areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric utilities, sustainable transport planning, fuel efficiency and climate policy.