India Proposes Energy Storage for New Renewable Projects

• 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴. • 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 2027 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 10% 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴. • 𝘈 100 𝘔𝘞 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 10 𝘔𝘞 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘸𝘰-𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. • 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥. • 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘥.

India’s Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has proposed amendments to technical regulations that would require new solar and wind projects to include co-located energy storage. Under the draft proposal, renewable energy projects commissioned from July 2027 would need storage equivalent to at least 10% of their installed capacity, with the storage system capable of supplying electricity for two hours.

The proposed requirement is intended to address the intermittent nature of renewable energy generation. Solar and wind power output varies depending on weather conditions and time of day, creating challenges for grid management as their share of India's electricity mix increases. Energy storage would allow excess renewable electricity to be stored and dispatched when generation falls or demand rises.

For example, a 100 MW renewable energy project would need at least 10 MW of storage under the proposed requirement, with a two-hour duration. The CEA had previously encouraged the co-location of storage with solar projects, but the latest proposal would make storage a mandatory requirement for projects covered by the amended regulations.

The proposal is open for stakeholder comments, with the consultation period extending until October 4. If implemented, the requirement would represent another step in India's efforts to strengthen grid flexibility and integrate increasing volumes of renewable energy while ensuring a more reliable electricity supply.

The proposed storage requirement could increase demand for battery energy storage systems, renewable-plus-storage projects and energy management solutions, while giving renewable developers a clearer framework for integrating storage into future projects. Businesses planning renewable-energy procurement may also need to reassess project costs, energy reliability and storage requirements.

Cognitud’s energy transition and renewable energy advisory capabilities can support organisations in evaluating storage options, renewable integration and the commercial impact of evolving regulations. This can enable businesses to align clean-energy investments with cost, reliability and long-term energy goals.