Building bridges: On India’s solar generation, battery storage
India scaled a record peak demand of 256.1 GW on April 25 with solar plants supplying 21.5% of the afternoon load — an all-time high, and the clearest signal yet that the country’s installed solar fleet can do real work when the sun is overhead. But the same day’s full 24-hour ledger told a more sobering story. When there was accounting for the whole day of April 25, solar contributed only about 10.8% of daily generation, and just 0.1% of the evening’s needs after sunset. Solar’s share of India’s installed electric capacity has nearly doubled from about 15% in 2022 to nearly 28% in early 2026. However, solar accounted for roughly 5.6% of generation on India’s peak-demand day in 2022 and only increased to the 10.8% of April — a clear indication of the yawning gap that remains between the realities of the present and what is possible. The bottleneck is not panels, land or ambition but the inability to use the vast stores of generated electrons through batteries. In fact, such is the paucity of battery storage that States which are prolific producers of solar power are being asked to halt their supply, lest it compromise the stability of India’s electric grid. In 2025, India had to curtail 2.3 terawatt hours of solar generation between late May and December, equivalent to 18% of average monthly solar output, with 0.9 TWh (terra-watt hours) wasted in October alone. Given that producers of such electricity must be compensated, this ends up being a cost to the public exchequer which pays for power that was never delivered. The India Meteorological Department’s forecast of a below-normal monsoon at 92% of the Long Period Average — the first such warning in 11 years — only sharpens the argument: a hotter, drier summer means greater daytime demand, which is precisely when solar should be doing the heavy lifting.
The encouraging news is battery economics. Standalone two-hour battery storage tariffs fell from around ₹2.21 lakh per MW per month in early 2025 to ₹1.48 lakh by year-end. The challenge is execution. Only 0.7 GWh of battery storage was operational in India by end-2025, with another 2 GWh expected by December 2026. The Centre and States must now focus less on tendering and more on commissioning — pairing every fresh solar auction with mandatory co-located storage and resolving the financing wall facing aggressively bid low-tariff projects. Solar capacity without storage is a half-built bridge.
- 1The effective integration of solar power with battery storage in India epitomizes the complexities of cooperative federalism, as electricity falls under the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule. Both the Centre and States must collaborate closely on policy, funding, and execution to overcome storage bottlenecks and prevent financial losses from curtailed generation. This shared responsibility is crucial for achieving energy security and fulfilling the Directive Principles of State Policy, such as Article 48A on environmental protection.
- 2India's ambitious solar energy targets and the critical need for battery storage are central to its domestic policy of achieving energy security and reducing fossil fuel dependency. This strategic shift aligns with the "Atmanirbhar Bharat" vision, aiming for self-reliance in critical energy infrastructure and technology. Successfully deploying storage solutions is vital for meeting India's updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, demonstrating its commitment to global climate action while bolstering national resilience.
- 3The Electricity Act, 2003, serves as the foundational statute governing India's power sector, empowering regulatory bodies like the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) to shape policy and market mechanisms. The article's recommendation for "mandatory co-located storage" with solar auctions necessitates a significant regulatory shift, possibly through new CERC regulations or amendments to existing bidding guidelines. Resolving financing issues and ensuring compensation for curtailed power also falls under the purview of these regulators and contractual frameworks like Power Purchase Agreements, preventing undue burden on the public exchequer.
- 4The intermittency of solar power, a core scientific challenge, is starkly illustrated by its 21.5% contribution to afternoon load versus a mere 0.1% after sunset, necessitating robust storage solutions. Economically, the curtailment of 1.8 terawatt-hours of solar generation in 2025, equivalent to 18% of average monthly output, represents a substantial financial drain on the public exchequer. Despite positive trends in battery economics, with tariffs falling significantly, the operational storage capacity of just 0.7 GWh remains critically low for a nation with India's energy demands.
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