Operational Experience in Management of Renewable Energy in Western Regional Grid, India

India, the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world, is approaching towards achieving its goal of 175GW of Renewable Energy (RE) (Solar, Wind, Biomass and Small Hydro) by 2022. The targeted RE capacity of Western Region (WR) is 54GW by 2022 which is second highest among target allotted to various electrical regions of India [1]. During 2019-20, there was 12.11% increase in total installed capacity of Renewable Energy sources in Western Region with respect to 201S-l9. The Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) (Wind and Solar) capacity of WR is increased by 12% as on December 2020 w.r.t. December 2019. With the rapid growth of VRE capacity, new challenges have emerged in grid management. The system operators now have to manage the two highly variable parameters i.e. VRE generation of wind and solar along with variable demand. With the operationalization of Renewable Energy Management Centers (REMCs) in Western Region, 91% of the VRE capacity of WR is now monitored at State Load Despatch Centres (SLDCs) of three RE rich states of WR and rest of capacity which is connected to Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) is being monitored by Western Region Load Despatch Centre (WRLDC) as on December, 2020. This paper highlights various operational issues faced by system operators to integrate the VRE generation and measures taken to mitigate the impact of variability of VRE on the grid. The need of more flexibility in conventional generation for integration of RE is described through case studies of special days, social and natural events observed in Western Region.