Renewable Energy
The proposal from the Central Electricity Authority mandates that new ground-mounted solar projects and onshore wind farms install energy storage equivalent to at least 10% of their capacity starting in July 2027. By 2029, the minimum duration would increase from two to four hours, as the country aims to prevent excess clean energy from being wasted.
India is preparing a significant change in how new renewable energy plants will be constructed. The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has proposed that ground-mounted solar and onshore wind projects commissioned after July 1, 2027 must have storage systems installed alongside the plants.
Under the proposal, the storage must have a capacity equivalent to at least 10% of the renewable project’s installed capacity and operate for a minimum of two hours. Thus, a 100 MW solar plant, for instance, would need to incorporate at least 10 MW of storage that can function for two hours.
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The measure aims to address a problem that has grown alongside India’s renewable expansion: at certain times of the day, the country produces more solar electricity than its grid can absorb or transport. As a result, operators are forced to reduce generation even when the panels could keep producing.
The proposal sets a clear date for the first phase.
New projects for ground-mounted solar power and onshore wind energy commissioned after July 1, 2027, would need to include storage systems.
The minimum capacity would be equivalent to 10% of the plant’s capacity, while the initial required duration would be two hours.
In practical terms, this means:
These numbers are mathematical examples of how the proposed rule would apply, not specific projects that have already been announced.
The CEA also aims to progressively tighten the requirement.
For projects commissioned starting July 1, 2029, the minimum capacity would remain at 10% of the renewable capacity.
However, the minimum storage duration would increase from two to four hours.
Thus, the same 100 MW solar project would still need at least 10 MW of storage capacity, but its minimum energy capacity requirement would shift from 20 MWh to 40 MWh.
Therefore, the second phase does not necessarily double the battery power. It doubles the minimum amount of energy that the system needs to store and deliver over time.
The reason for the change is evident in the numbers from the electrical system.
Between April and June 2026, India had to curtail nearly 14% of its potential solar generation, according to data cited by Reuters.
The problem arose due to an excess of clean electricity during certain times of the day, while the existing infrastructure was unable to transport or absorb all that production.
As a result, panels capable of generating energy saw their output reduced.
This process is known as curtailment.
It occurs when a power plant could generate electricity, but the operator requests that it reduce or temporarily halt production because the system cannot accommodate all that energy at that moment.
Another report shows an even larger scale.
In the 15 months leading up to the beginning of September, India curtailed approximately 11 TWh of solar generation, according to government data and research from Ember published by the Associated Press.
This amount would be enough, according to the report, to power approximately 10 million homes.
The paradox is noteworthy because it occurred precisely while demand for electricity in India was rising.
During periods of intense heat, air conditioning units increase consumption. At the same time, demand remains high after the sun goes down and photovoltaic output plummets.
It is precisely this difference between generation times and consumption times that emphasizes the importance of batteries.
The mechanism is relatively simple.
During hours of strong sunlight, a power plant can generate more electricity than the grid needs at that moment.
Without sufficient storage, part of that surplus needs to be curtailed.
With a battery installed alongside the project, some of the electricity can be stored.
Later, when the sun sets and photovoltaic generation decreases, the system can discharge the stored energy.
This way, storage shifts electricity over time.
Instead of being forced to consume electricity at the same moment it is produced, the system can store some of it for times of greater necessity.
The challenge has grown because India’s renewable expansion has gained enormous scale.
The country already has more than 300 GW of installed clean energy capacity, accounting for more than half of its total electrical capacity.
Additionally, India has set a goal of reaching 500 GW of capacity based on non-fossil sources by 2030.
Solar and wind will play an important role in this expansion.
However, both are variable sources.
Solar panels depend on available radiation, while wind turbines depend on wind speed.
Therefore, increasing only the number of plants without expanding storage, transmission, and operational flexibility may create new bottlenecks.
This international dimension makes the proposal even more relevant.
India is already the third largest producer of solar energy in the world.
This means that regulatory changes adopted by the country could influence a massive supply chain of batteries, inverters, control systems, power electronics, and auxiliary equipment.
Each new renewable project falling under the regulation would need to consider storage from its design phase.
As a result, batteries would no longer be merely optional equipment for certain enterprises and would begin to be integrated into the basic design of new installations affected by the regulation.
Although the electrical systems differ, the problem of excess renewable generation has also gained significance in Brazil.
Brazil’s Northeast region has rapidly expanded its solar and wind farms. However, transmission limitations and operational needs have led to increasing generation cutbacks.
Consequently, energy storage has begun to play a crucial role in Brazil’s energy planning.
The CPG revealed that Brazil is preparing its first large-scale battery auction to store excess solar and wind energy and release electricity when the system requires it.
The difference lies in the regulatory strategy. While Brazil is preparing for specific capacity contracts, India is now proposing to incorporate storage directly into the new renewable projects affected by the regulation.
The current proposal did not emerge from thin air.
In February 2025, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had issued a guideline recommending that solar projects incorporate storage equivalent to at least 10% of the installed capacity for two hours.
At that time, it was merely a recommendation.
Now, the authority aims to transform this technical reference into a requirement for new projects under the regulation starting in July 2027.
Therefore, the significant change lies precisely in the shift from a guideline to a proposed regulatory requirement.
The Indian government has already estimated that renewable expansion will require storage on a much larger scale.
According to official information released by the Ministry of Energy, the National Electricity Plan projected a need for approximately 47.24 GW / 236 GWh of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) by 2031-32.
The estimated investment associated with this demand reaches about 3.49 lakh crore rupees.
In addition to batteries, the country also projects strong growth in pumped storage hydropower plants.
By 2031-32, the estimated need for this technology reaches 26.69 GW / 175 GWh.
Thus, India is not betting on a single solution. The planning combines electrochemical batteries, hydraulic storage, transmission expansion, and operational changes in the grid.
One of the largest demonstrations of this strategy is located in Andhra Pradesh.
The Pinnapuram Integrated Renewable Energy Project combines solar, wind, and pumped hydro storage generation.
The facility was designed with 4,000 MW of solar power, 1,000 MW of wind power, and 1,680 MW of pumped storage.
Instead of electrochemical cells, the system utilizes two artificial reservoirs.
When there is renewable surplus, pumps transfer water to the upper reservoir. Later, when the grid needs electricity, the water flows down through turbines to generate power again.
The CPG detailed how the Pinnapuram project utilizes two artificial reservoirs and 1,680 MW of storage to convert excess solar and wind power into dispatchable electricity.
The new proposal from the CEA complements this strategy by extending storage to new solar and wind farms as well.
Another official projection illustrates the expected speed of this transformation.
In March 2026, the government reported that the National Electricity Plan anticipated approximately 208 GWh of BESS systems needed by 2030 to integrate renewable expansion.
At that time, 35.8 GWh of BESS capacity was already under construction.
In addition, the government is implementing financial support programs to expedite approximately 43 GWh of new storage systems.
These figures indicate that the mandatory proposal is part of a much larger policy framework.
The country is simultaneously creating demand, financing projects, encouraging manufacturing, and modifying the technical rules of the grid.
The strategy also reaches the industry.
The government has a program to incentivize the production of advanced chemistry cells with a budget of ₹18,100 crore.
The overall goal involves 50 GWh of manufacturing capacity.
Of that total, 10 GWh is reserved for grid-scale stationary storage.
Thus, the expansion of the battery market does not rely solely on imports.
India is also attempting to develop a domestic supply chain capable of meeting part of the demand created by the energy transition.
Batteries represent only part of the proposal.
The CEA also aims to require technology known as grid-forming in inverters.
Renewable projects commissioned after July 2027 would need to have at least 15% of inverters equipped with grid-forming controls.
In addition, the power conversion systems associated with BESS would also need to possess this capability.
This function is significant because traditional power grids were built around large synchronous generators, such as those used in thermal and hydroelectric plants.
As solar, wind, and batteries gain market share, power electronics need to assume part of the functions required to keep the system stable.
An electrical grid needs to maintain technical parameters within strict limits.
Two of these are particularly important: frequency and voltage.
When generation and consumption become unbalanced rapidly, these parameters can fluctuate.
Grid-forming technologies allow inverters to participate more actively in system stabilization.
Consequently, the Indian proposal aims not only to store excess energy.
It also prepares renewable infrastructure to perform functions that become increasingly important as inverter-based sources take up a larger share of the energy mix.
Despite renewable energy expansion, coal remains central to India’s electricity system.
The country has immense solar and wind capacity, but thermal plants still provide a significant share of effective generation.
This occurs, among other reasons, because they can produce electricity in a controllable manner at different times.
Batteries could gradually change this relationship.
By storing solar electricity during the day and delivering it during evening peak hours, the system diminishes one of the key limitations of photovoltaic sources.
However, storage alone does not eliminate the need for other sources, transmission, and operational flexibility.
The proposed solution has its limits.
When a region produces a large amount of energy but lacks sufficient lines to transport that electricity to consumer centers, batteries can help alleviate some of the pressure.
However, they do not completely replace the need for new transmission lines.
If the problem is structural and persistent, the stored energy will still need to reach consumers at some point.
For this reason, experts advocate a combination of solutions: storage, transmission, geographical distribution of renewables, and greater flexibility of conventional plants.
India is attempting to advance on all these fronts simultaneously.
This discussion is particularly significant as Brazil faces its own renewable generation cuts.
With increased solar and wind energy connected to the National Interconnected System, storing excess energy may allow for electricity that is currently restricted to be utilized hours later.
CPG has already highlighted how megabatteries are entering the Brazilian planning to store solar and wind energy and enhance the stability of the electricity system.
Thus, the Indian experience may serve as an international reference for a stricter regulatory alternative: requiring that the renewable project itself is accompanied by minimum storage capacity.
This is the main editorial caution of the topic.
India has not yet definitively enforced the requirement.
The document released by the Central Electricity Authority is a proposal for regulatory change.
Therefore, titles claiming that “India has already mandated all renewable plants to install batteries” would be inaccurate.
Furthermore, the proposal does not indiscriminately cover all existing renewable installations.
The focus is on new solar projects on land and onshore wind projects framed within the rules and commissioned after the established dates.
The expected progression indicates how the government aims to gradually increase flexibility.
Consider again a solar plant with 100 MW.
Starting from July 2027, it would require, under the proposal, at least 10 MW of storage for two hours, equating to 20 MWh.
By July 2029, the minimum capacity would remain at 10 MW, but the system would need to operate for four hours.
In this case, the energy capacity would increase to 40 MWh.
Thus, India is creating an adaptation period before doubling the minimum duration.
The change marks a new stage in the energy transition.
For years, the main challenge was to install enough solar panels and wind turbines to reduce costs and increase clean generation.
Now, countries with significant renewable volumes face another issue: what to do when all this energy reaches the grid at the same time.
In India, the solution proposed by the CEA is to begin building storage alongside generation itself.
The rule would start with 10% of capacity for two hours in July 2027 and advance to four hours in July 2029.
At the same time, grid-forming technologies would help new projects participate more actively in electrical stability.
After restricting nearly 14% of potential solar generation between April and June, the country signals that simply installing more panels is no longer sufficient.
The next phase will require the ability to store electricity during excess and deliver it exactly when the system needs it most.
And what do you think? Should Brazil follow a similar strategy and require storage alongside new solar and wind farms, or would it be better to leave batteries for auctions and independent projects?
Author for the Click Petróleo e Gás portal since 2019, responsible for publishing over 8,000 articles that have garnered millions of views, combining technical expertise, clarity, and engagement to inform and connect readers. A Petroleum Engineer with a postgraduate degree in Industrial Unit Commissioning, I also bring practical experience and background in the agribusiness sector, which broadens my perspective and versatility in producing specialized content. I develop content topics, disseminate job opportunities, and create advertising materials tailored for the industry audience. For content suggestions, job vacancy promotion, or advertising proposals, please contact via email: santizatagpc@gmail.com. We do not accept resumes
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