Honeywell commissions Indian battery in Lakshadweep

Honeywell Automation India Ltd has announced delivery and commissioning of a microgrid BESS for a Solar Energy Corp. of India grid-connected solar project in the Lakshadweep archipelago.

The BESS technology of the Indian business of US conglomerate Honeywell has been integrated into the microgrid of the remote Kavaratti islands to support decarbonization of their energy supply.

Due to its remote location in the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep lacks national grid connectivity. The solar-plus-storage project is expected to significantly reduce diesel consumption on the four islands and lower electricity costs while offsetting millions of kilograms of CO₂ emissions over its lifetime.

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy estimates the 1.7 MWp solar and 1.4 MWh BESS-enabled project in Lakshadweep will save INR 2.5 billion ($29.8 million) over its lifetime, reduce diesel consumption by 19.8 million liters, and offset 58,000 tons of carbon emissions.

Honeywell’s BESS technology includes a portfolio of solutions to help power producers store and distribute renewable energy. It includes a complete end-to-end solution that controls automation, safety, and efficiency aspects with a facility to render remote operation for battery modules and grid management systems to enable renewable power to be used within a microgrid that can also co-exist alongside national grid supply.

For the Lakshadweep project, Honeywell supplied its advanced energy management system/microgrid controller and power plant controller to manage the distribution of renewable energy, as well as a range of BESS sub-systems.

“We are committed to supporting India’s energy transition and energy self-reliance initiative by driving constant technology and software innovation to participate in the country’s Net Zero 2070 goal,” said Ashish Gaikwad, vice president and general manager of Honeywell Industrial Automation India. “To get there, new power and energy sources will be required, including renewables. Honeywell’s BESS technology is one of the fundamental enablers of this transition. The integration of our BESS technology into the Lakshadweep microgrid system is a positive step forward in this journey.”

Honeywell delivered the end-to-end solution to solar developer SunSource Energy, which executed the Lakshadweep Islands solar project on an engineering, procurement and construction services basis.

From pv magazine India.