Shreyas Sortex  Industries has won NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam’s (NVVN) auction to set up a 250 MW/500 MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Kerala.

The BESS will have to be installed at the 220 kV Brahmapuram substation in Kochi, with an interconnection at the 220 kV voltage level within the jurisdiction of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEBL).

Shreyas Sortex Industries won the 250 MW/500 MWh contract with a tariff of ₹181,000 (~$1,973)/MW/month.

Other companies that participated in the bidding process were OPG Power Generation, Oriana Power, DB Power BESS Storage, NTPC Green Energy, and Powergrid Corporation of India.

The tender was floated in October last year.

The project will be supported by viability gap funding (VGF) at a rate of ₹1.8 million (~$20,286)/MWh, amounting to ₹900 million (~$10.14 million) for the total project capacity.

The project’s total storage capacity will be 500 MWh with a power rating of 250 MW, designed for a two-hour discharge duration.

The contract period will be 16 years, during which the BESS developer will be responsible for the complete operation and maintenance, including safety and system performance.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, supply, installation, testing, commissioning, and operation of the BESS. The developer must also construct an interconnection bay at the 220 kV state transmission utility substation, along with the required control, protection, metering, and cybersecurity systems.

The scheduled commissioning date is set at 18 months from the effective date of the battery energy storage purchase agreement, with a maximum permissible delay of six months, subject to liquidated damages.

The system must maintain a minimum round-trip efficiency of 85%, a minimum annual availability of 95%, and support at least 1 full charge-discharge cycle per day, for a total of 400 cycles annually. Dispatchable capacity should not fall below 70% by the end of the 16-year contract period.

Delays in commissioning will result in proportional performance bank guarantee encashment, and a round-trip efficiency below 70% will lead to the forfeiture of that month’s tariff payments. A failure to maintain 50% availability for two consecutive years will constitute an event of default, resulting in termination of the battery energy storage purchase agreement.

In June last year, Solar91 Cleantech and Rays Power Experts were among the winners of NVVN’s auction to set up 500 MW/1,000 MWh standalone BESS in Rajasthan.

Earlier, the Ministry of Power had directed all states and implementing agencies to award all BESS contracts by June 2025, enabling the VGF program to be completed by May 2027.