Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the establishment of a 250 MW with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, marking a pioneering effort among several planned projects aimed at utilising thousands of acres of unused defence land across India for various green energy initiatives.
The Sitapur project will be developed on a vacant parcel of defence land measuring 850 acres, the Defence Ministry said on Monday.
“This is the first-of-its-kind project undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), involving the development of a large-scale solar power generation facility with integrated BESS support on defence land,” the statement from the Ministry noted.
The Ministry stated that the solar power project at Sitapur reflects the government’s commitment towards clean energy, sustainability and reduction of dependence on conventional energy sources.
It said that besides strengthening long-term energy security for the defence forces, the project is expected to substantially reduce expenditure incurred on procurement of conventional grid power for defence establishments, resulting in significant savings to the government exchequer over the life cycle of the project.
It noted that NTPC Limited is implementing the project through a competitive bid process to realise the most optimal energy pricing and savings for defence establishments.
“The project will be implemented in close coordination with Integrated HQ of MoD (Army) and Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE),” it said, adding that the project represents a convergence of national security, energy security, technological innovation and environmental sustainability.
It said the move highlights the Ministry of Defence’s commitment to leverage its assets in support of national development goals while safeguarding strategic interests.
MoD, NTPC, IHQ of MoD (Army) and DGDE will work in close coordination to ensure timely implementation of the project.
The Indian Express, in December last year, reported that the Armed Forces are planning to optimise thousands of acres of unutilised defence land across the country over the next three to five years for various projects focusing on green energy initiatives. An estimated 46,000 acres of defence land can be used for such projects, and the options being explored included setting up solar plants and biogas plants, besides carrying out afforestation and floriculture to earn carbon credits.
The solar power project in Sitapur is expected to emerge as one of the country’s most significant renewable energy projects established on defence land and a benchmark for future solar-plus-storage projects in the defence sector, it added.
In April this year, The Indian Express reported that India’s Armed Forces are exploring various measures to conserve LPG and other fuel amid the ongoing global energy crisis triggered by the West Asia war — from procuring alternative cooking sources, preferably biogas in the short term, to exploiting solar and wind energy on a larger scale over the next few months.
To be sure, the Sitapur project was in the planning stages since last year – before the current energy crisis emerged.
