India’s solar-plus-BESS co-location model is emerging as a scalable pathway to improve grid stability, reduce curtailment and make better use of land and transmission assets. Policy support, competitive tenders and state-level projects are helping storage move from pilots toward wider renewable energy deployment.
SNAPSHOT
Article Type – Analysis / opinion
Focus Area – Solar-plus-BESS co-location in India
Technology Used – Solar PV with battery energy storage systems
Location – India
Status – Early-stage deployment with growing tender activity
Purpose – To support firm, dispatchable renewable power
Expected Impact – Better grid stability, peak power supply, and transmission utilisation
As India’s solar sector expands, attention is shifting toward Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Co-locating large battery systems with solar projects is emerging as a practical way to manage renewable energy intermittency and improve power availability during peak demand hours.
India’s has installed BESS capacity remains below 1 GWh, while the Central Electricity Authority has projected a requirement of 80 GW/321 GWh of storage by 2035–36. The co-location model allows batteries to store excess solar power during afternoon generation peaks and discharge it during high-demand evening hours.
Solar-plus-BESS projects also help reduce land and transmission constraints. By sharing infrastructure, grid connectivity, and transmission access, these projects can improve utilisation of existing systems while reducing the need for additional land and new evacuation infrastructure.
Government support is helping move this model toward commercial scale. Central implementation agencies have issued around 15 tenders for co-located projects over the past two years, with capacities ranging from 1,000 MW to 2,000 MW and storage durations of 2, 4 or 6 hours.
At the state level, Madhya Pradesh’s Morena Solar-Plus-Storage Project combines two 300 MW solar units with 880 MWh of storage. Similar models are gaining attention in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan, supported by tariffs as low as ₹2.70/kWh.
The Ministry of Power has recommended that future solar tenders include at least 2 hours of storage, equal to around 10% of installed solar capacity. Eligible co-located BESS projects commissioned on or before 30 June 2028 will also receive full waiver on Inter-State Transmission System charges.
Challenges remain, including dependence on imported battery cells, grid import-export limits and unclear long-term revenue streams. Clearer models for energy arbitrage, peak power procurement and round-the-clock renewable contracts will be important for improving project bankability.