India is in talks with several Southeast Asian nations, including Singapore and Thailand, for cross-border trade of renewable energy (RE) electricity, official sources said on Friday. Grid linkages will be established both under the sea and on land, depending on cost equations, the sources added.
The move will help expand manifold cross-border sale of electricity by India. Currently, cross-border interconnections exist with Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar, and these facilitate total power transfer of about 4,423 mega watt (MW). New Delhi is also considering trading power with West Asian countries, including the UAE.
“We are in an advanced discussions with Singapore for signing a deal on laying down a direct under-sea interconnection for trade in renewable power,” an official in the ministry of power said on condition of anonymity.
Indian power officials are holding separate and joint discussions with countries of Southeast Asia including, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand, at the ongoing G20 Clean Energy Ministerial meeting in Goa.
“Several rounds of discussion have already taken place. Among other things, talks are happening on establishing regional power grid interconnections. Setting up grid linkage with Myanmar will take four years,” the official said.
Analysts believe the upcoming arrangement with Southeast Asian countries reflects India’s growing diplomatic ties in the region, and signals its intent to be a large producer of renewable energy, not only for itself, but for the world as well. India, which currently has a renewable energy capacity of 177 giga watt (GW), plans to increase it to 500 GW by 2030.
Sources said the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in consultation with the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Central Transmission Utility (CTU), has already prepared a detailed project report (DPR).
The government has also engaged French multinational electric utility company EDF to prepare a detailed regulatory framework addressing issues like pricing. The energy company is likely to submit the report by year-end.
The CEA has formed joint consultative committee with officials from state-run transmission company Power Grid Corp of India (PowerGrid) to assess the infrastructure required and generate an estimate for the investment.
“It demonstrates the growing capabilities of the country in the renewable energy sector, and offers potential for greater investments in the sector,” said Vikram V, vice-president and sector head, corporate ratings, ICRA.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), as a group, is world’s fourth-largest energy consumer. Its energy transition will be vital for the world to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Its renewable energy market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.4% over the next five years.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President and Indian Prime Minister, at a meeting in New Delhi on Friday morning, announced cooperation in renewable energy, among other areas. Last month, India and the UAE held talks to connect their grids through undersea cables for trading in renewable energy.
At present, power transfer with Bhutan is 2,070 MW, Bangladesh 1,160 MW, Nepal 1,200 MW and Myanmar 3 MW. With the commissioning of under-construction cross-border interconnections likely in two years, the power transfer would nearly double to 8,553 MW.