Key facts
- India will require solar and wind energy projects to have installed battery storage starting July 1, 2027.
- Initial requirements mandate storage equal to 10% of project capacity with a minimum two-hour duration.
- Storage requirements will increase to a minimum four-hour duration for projects commissioned from July 2029.
- The regulation aims to address curtailments caused by grid and transmission constraints.
- Grid and transmission issues led to 300 GWh of renewable energy curtailment in Q1.
India is set to implement a new regulation from July 1, 2027, requiring developers of solar and wind energy projects to install battery storage systems on-site. This move is intended to better manage the intermittent output of renewable sources and reduce power curtailments, which have hampered the full utilization of the country's growing solar and wind capacity.
The proposed rules, put forth by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), will initially mandate that new projects commissioned after the July 2027 deadline must have co-located energy storage equivalent to at least 10% of the project's installed capacity, with a minimum storage duration of two hours. These requirements will become more stringent for projects commissioned between July 2029 and 2031, demanding storage of at least 10% of capacity for a minimum of four hours.
Despite a significant boom in solar and wind installations, India has faced challenges in integrating this clean energy into the grid due to its slower expansion compared to renewable energy generation. Grid and transmission constraints were identified as the cause of nearly two-thirds of renewable energy curtailment in the first quarter of the year, totaling 300 gigawatt-hours. Experts suggest that India requires approximately 10 GWh of battery storage immediately to mitigate curtailments when the coal power fleet cannot be ramped down sufficiently.
Solar power developers have already begun incorporating battery storage into their projects to attract buyers and mitigate the issue of power supply being curtailed because the grid cannot absorb it. This mandate is expected to accelerate the adoption of energy storage solutions across India's renewable energy sector.