India Steps Up Energy Storage Development to Support Clean Energy

India is set to increase its focus on energy storage development as the country works to strengthen its renewable energy infrastructure and integrate more clean power into the electricity grid. Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi highlighted the government’s growing emphasis on energy storage at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conference.

The government is moving toward the implementation of its Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme, which is designed to support the development of large-scale energy storage capacity. The initiative is expected to help reduce the financial barriers associated with deploying battery storage projects and accelerate investment in the sector.

Energy storage is becoming increasingly important for India as solar and wind power capacity expands. Unlike conventional generation, renewable sources such as solar and wind are variable, making storage essential for balancing electricity supply and demand, improving grid stability and enabling renewable power to be available when generation is lower.

The government's increased focus on storage also supports India's broader clean-energy transition and efforts to expand non-fossil electricity capacity. Greater deployment of BESS could help India manage rising renewable generation while improving the reliability and flexibility of its power system.

The development is therefore significant for India's sustainability agenda, as stronger energy-storage infrastructure can enable higher renewable energy integration, grid flexibility and a more resilient clean-energy system.

Storage is the missing piece that would let India stop backing away from the 50 GW-annual-tender ambition, and government focus on it shifts the whole risk profile for renewable IPPs and lenders. Our energy-transition and responsible-investment teams help clients evaluate storage-plus-renewable investment cases, hybrid PPA structures and disclosure implications.