Simulation of Cross-Border Renewable Energy Trading in South Asia

India's national renewable energy zones for wind power and solar photovoltaics (PV) could become regional green power resources if South Asian countries liberalize their rules for cross-border energy trading (CBET). Similarly, Nepal's wealth of hydropower could be more valuable to Nepal and its neighbors with greater market integration. These are the findings of a study by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) that tested trading scenarios for wind power, solar power, and hydropower among Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The NREL study found that wheeling power through India's interstate transmission system (ISTS) could be just as efficient operationally as building new high-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines from the renewable energy zones directly to the importing country. This means that CBET integration could substitute for new long-distance HVDC transmission - which could cost billions of dollars - while delivering to all participating countries the same benefits for renewable energy development and decarbonization.