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Beyond Solar and Wind, NLC India Builds a Growing BESS Portfolio Photograph: (AI)
NLC India, the Indian PSU which was earlier primarily involved into thermal energy generation company is steadily moving towards green energy. After boosting its solar and wind portfolio, the listed company is now working towards making renewable energy firmer by steadily increased its energy storage portfolio. However, unlike the private companies engaged in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), this company is working towards building an integrated storage portfoli-comprising both BESS as well as Pumped Hydro Storage (PSP) projects. 
As per the company’s FY2025-26 Integrated Annual Report, NLC India and its wholly owned subsidiary NLC India Renewables Ltd. (NIRL) have secured multiple energy-storage projects, with the company reporting a contracted storage pipeline of 3,300 MWh across three arrangements.
The portfolio includes a 250 MW/500 MWh BESS project in Tamil Nadu, which has progressed to a signed power purchase agreement. NLC has also secured a Letter of Award for a 600 MW solar project coupled with a 300 MW/1,800 MWh BESS from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), while another 500 MWh BESS project has been awarded by Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. (PSPCL). The company has subsequently won bids for a 50 MW/200 MWh BESS project from West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. and a 275 MW BESS project from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd, hintings towards its hunger for bet for more storage projects.
The 250 MW/500 MWh Tamil Nadu project represents NLC’s first large-scale BESS deployment. NIRL secured the project from Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Ltd. (TNGECL) through tariff-based competitive bidding under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme. The Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA) was signed with Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd., while the land lease agreement with TANTRANSCO was subsequently executed.
The project is proposed to be financed by KfW Germany, and NLC has placed an order with Pace Digitek for the battery and other EPC activities. NLC says the project will enable renewable electricity to be stored and released when required by the grid, helping improve grid stability and increase the utilisation of clean power.    
The company is increasingly combining storage with new renewable-generation projects rather than treating BESS as a standalone business. Its renewable project pipeline includes large-scale solar, wind-solar hybrid and battery-storage projects. NLC specifically identifies the 250 MW/500 MWh BESS project and the 600 MW solar project with 300 MW/1,800 MWh of battery storage as important steps towards firm renewable energy.
This marks a shift in the company’s renewable strategy from adding generation capacity alone towards combining generation with storage to improve the availability and flexibility of renewable electricity. NLC currently has 1,785 MW of operational renewable capacity and generated a record 2.26 billion units of renewable electricity in FY2025-26. It is targeting 10,110 MW of renewable capacity by 2030, with 5,810 MW of projects under implementation or active development.
NLC’s storage strategy is not limited to batteries. The company is also pursuing pumped-storage projects, including two 50 MW projects in Neyveli mine voids, as well as larger projects at Palar-Porathalar in Tamil Nadu and Salandi in Odisha. The company says feasibility work has been prepared for the two 50 MW Neyveli projects, while the larger projects include a proposed 1,100 MW pumped-storage development at Palar-Porathalar and a 500 MW project at Salandi.   This gives NLC two parallel storage pathways: battery systems for grid-scale short-duration storage and pumped hydro for larger, longer-duration applications.
NLC’s expansion into storage comes alongside a significant increase in its solar and wind portfolio. During FY2025-26, the company commissioned its 300 MW Barsingsar Solar Project in Rajasthan and a 50 MW solar project at Neyveli. Its renewable pipeline also includes wind and wind-solar hybrid projects.
NLC has secured a 450 MW ISTS-connected wind-solar hybrid project from NTPC and has been pursuing additional solar and wind projects through SECI, GUVNL, SJVN and other agencies. 
The company has therefore begun positioning storage as a component of a broader renewable portfolio rather than as a standalone diversification activity.
The expansion into BESS is part of a wider diversification strategy at NLC. Alongside renewables and storage, the company is developing a 4 MW PEM electrolyser-based green hydrogen plant at Neyveli and has entered critical minerals, including blocks containing vanadium, titanium and aluminous laterite.  For NLC, the emerging model is increasingly built around solar and wind generation, backed by BESS and pumped storage, with green hydrogen and critical minerals forming additional clean-energy businesses.
The company has set aside ₹10,669 crore for diversification through 2030 and has received government approval for an additional ₹7,000 crore investment in NLC India Renewables Ltd. to accelerate its renewable ambitions.
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