Aiming to reduce carbon emission in the Lakshadweep Islands, Honeywell has deployed a 1.4MWh battery storage system for Solar Energy Corporation’s project there, marking India’s first on-grid solar initiative with BESS.
Honeywell Automation India Limited (HAIL) has recently installed and activated a 1.4MWh microgrid battery energy storage system (BESS) for the Solar Energy Corporation of India’s (SECI) Lakshadweep Islands project in the Kavaratti islands. The project was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Honeywell’s BESS system includes automation, safety, and efficiency controls. It supports remote management of battery modules and grid systems, enabling the integration of renewable energy within a microgrid that can also connect to the national grid.
For this project, Honeywell is providing its energy management system (EMS)/microgrid controller and power plant controller to oversee renewable energy distribution, along with various BESS sub-systems. Its applications include managing capacity smoothing, peak shaving, volt VAR control, black start operations, and constant charging and discharging.
As a part of the project, Honeywell has delivered the end-to-end solution to SunSource Energy Private Limited for its contract from SECI.
The company has claimed that this project marks India’s first on-grid solar initiative incorporating BESS for renewable energy management, aligning with the government’s decarbonisation efforts in the island.
It is also SECI’s first approved non-containerised BESS and integrates advanced EMS with LEDA’s distribution generation microgrid.
Currently, most of Lakshadweep’s power is generated by diesel units, which are high in carbon emissions and reliant on fuel imports from the mainland, raising electricity costs.
According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the 1.7MWp solar and 1.4MWh BESS-equipped Lakshadweep project is expected to save ₹2.5 billion over its lifetime, cut diesel use by 19.8 million litres, and reduce carbon emissions by 58,000 tonnes.
“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. To get there, new power/energy sources will be required, including renewables,” stated Ashish Gaikwad, Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell Industrial Automation India.
He further noted that Honeywell’s BESS technology is one of the fundamental enablers of this transition.
Santanu Guha, CEO of SunSource Energy, also expressed enthusiasm for their role in this significant project, which supports Lakshadweep’s energy transition and aligns with national net-zero targets.
