India Battery & Energy Storage News — 28 May 2026
Adani Green Energy commissions a cumulative 3.37 GWh battery storage system at Khavda — the largest single-location BESS outside China — as India's storage sector decisively pivots from aggressive tendering to execution-led scale, and EV sales surge 60–75% year-on-year in April.
Adani Green Commissions 3.37 GWh Battery Energy Storage System at Khavda — Largest Outside China
— Source: Energy-Storage News
Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) has commissioned a cumulative 3.37 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) Battery Energy Storage System at its Khavda renewable energy park in Gujarat — the largest single-location battery storage deployment outside China and one of the fastest utility-scale BESS projects ever completed. The latest 1.37 GWh phase came online in March 2026, with full commissioning of all phases completed within just 10 months of on-site construction.
The 3.37 GWh BESS can store enough clean energy to power nearly one million Indian homes for a full day. The integrated solar-plus-storage architecture at Khavda allows AGEL to time-shift renewable generation into evening peak demand windows — a critical step for India's grid as variable renewable capacity scales past 200 GW. AGEL has signalled plans to add more than 10 GWh of additional battery storage in FY27, scaling toward a 50 GWh cumulative target over the next five years. The Khavda commissioning is widely viewed as the inflection point at which India's BESS market transitions from policy ambition to commercial reality.
Key data: Capacity: 3.37 GWh (cumulative) · Latest phase: 1.37 GWh (March 2026) · Site: Khavda Renewable Energy Park, Gujarat · Construction timeline: ~10 months · FY27 expansion plan: +10 GWh · 5-year target: 50 GWh · Equivalent: powers ~1 million homes for a day
Source: Energy-Storage News
India's Storage Market Pivots From Tendering to Execution — 102 GWh Tendered in 2025 Now Hits Delivery Phase
— Source: Energy-Storage News
India's battery energy storage system (BESS) market is undergoing a decisive shift from aggressive tendering to execution-led scale, according to new sector analysis published this month. In calendar year 2025 alone, approximately 102 GWh of BESS tenders were issued by central and state agencies — a record volume — while operational capacity remained at an early stage. With Adani Green, ACME Solar, IndiGrid and others now commissioning multi-hundred-MWh assets in 2026, the sector's centre of gravity is moving to project delivery.
Industry analysts highlight that India now has a record 92 GWh of BESS projects in the active execution pipeline. The delivery challenge is acute: roughly 75% of allocated 2-hour capacity from 2025 bids sits in tariff brackets analysts term "risky," meaning developers must squeeze costs faster than expected to remain economic. Continued VGF support, scaled domestic cell manufacturing and clearer offtake pathways are the three execution levers analysts say will determine whether the 2026 commissioning wave continues into 2027–28 or stalls under tariff pressure.
Key data: 2025 tenders issued: ~102 GWh · Active execution pipeline: 92 GWh · "Risky tariff bracket" share: ~75% of 2-hour capacity · Sector inflection: tendering → execution · Key execution levers: VGF, DVA, cell manufacturing scale
Source: Energy-Storage News
India EV Sales Surge: Passenger EVs Up 75% YoY in April, Two-Wheelers Up 61% — 25.25 Lakh Units in FY26
— Source: EVreporter / Vahan
India's electric vehicle market registered exceptionally strong growth in April 2026, with passenger EV sales rising 75.14% year-on-year and electric two-wheeler sales increasing 60.73%, according to the Vahan Dashboard. For the full 12-month window from May 2025 to April 2026, India recorded a cumulative 25,25,055 EV registrations (excluding Telangana and low-speed e-2Ws) — a milestone that places India firmly on a multi-million-unit annual EV trajectory.
Tata Motors retains clear leadership in passenger EVs with a market share of over 36%, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra and JSW MG Motor India. In two-wheelers, TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto continued to expand share alongside category leader Ola Electric. The surge has direct implications for the battery supply chain: domestic cell demand from the 4W and 2W segments alone is now tracking toward a 30+ GWh annual run rate by FY27, just as PLI-ACC beneficiaries Amara Raja, Agratas (Tata Group) and Reliance approach commercial cell production.
Key data: Passenger EV YoY (April 2026): +75.14% · E-2W YoY (April 2026): +60.73% · Trailing-12-month EV sales: 25,25,055 · Tata Motors PV EV share: 36%+ · Implied FY27 cell demand (4W+2W): ~30 GWh/yr
Source: EVreporter
PLI-ACC Battery Scheme at 2.8% of Target — But Amara Raja, Agratas and Reliance Lines Now Within Months of Production
— Source: IEEFA
India's flagship Production-Linked Incentive scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (PLI-ACC), which earmarked ₹18,100 crore (~US$2.08 billion) to build 50 GWh of domestic battery cell manufacturing capacity by 2025, has commissioned only 1.4 GWh as of early 2026 — just 2.8% of its stated target. All commissioned capacity to date is at Ola Electric's Krishnagiri plant, the sole beneficiary to have drawn a disbursement (₹73.7 crore).
IEEFA's latest update flags the same structural bottlenecks that have dogged the scheme since launch — visa delays for Chinese technical specialists, aggressive 2-year installation timelines, and stringent domestic value addition (DVA) requirements — but also points to a sharply improving 2026–27 outlook. Amara Raja, Agratas (Tata Group) and Reliance New Energy are all approaching commercial production within the next 18 months. Reliance has indicated on-time commissioning of its second-round 10 GWh award. Budget 2026-27 has reinforced the framework by raising VGF support for BESS nine-fold to ₹1,000 crore and exempting customs duty on capital goods for lithium-ion cell manufacturing.
Key data: Target capacity: 50 GWh · Commissioned: 1.4 GWh (2.8%) · Only beneficiary disbursed: Ola Electric (₹73.7 cr) · Next wave: Amara Raja, Agratas, Reliance — late 2026–2027 · Budget 2026-27: VGF for BESS raised 9× to ₹1,000 cr · Customs duty waived on Li-ion capital goods
Source: IEEFA
India's Energy Storage Policy Goes Beyond Batteries: Pumped Hydro and Gas Peakers Re-enter the Mix in 2026
— Source: Discovery Alert
India's 2026 energy storage policy is increasingly framed as a multi-technology portfolio rather than a battery-only push. New analysis published this week argues that to absorb the 500+ GW of variable renewable capacity targeted by 2030, India needs to scale pumped hydro storage, gas-fired peaking capacity and grid-forming BESS in parallel. Several state-level pumped storage tenders have been finalised in 2026, with GE Vernova and other OEMs winning multi-hundred-MW pumped hydro contracts alongside BESS awards.
The policy logic is straightforward: 2-to-4 hour BESS is optimal for daily solar shifting, but India also needs 8-to-12 hour and seasonal storage for wind variability and monsoon-related demand swings — windows where pumped hydro and limited gas peaking remain economically superior to current battery chemistries. The Central Electricity Authority's April 2026 amendment also raised the technical bar: all new BESS projects above 50 MW must now provide grid-forming inverter capability and black-start support, formalising storage as an active grid-services provider rather than a passive arbitrage asset.
Key data: 2030 VRE target: 500+ GW · Storage mix: BESS (2–4 hr) + pumped hydro (8–12 hr) + limited gas peaking · CEA mandate (April 2026): grid-forming inverters + black-start for ≥50 MW BESS · Recent winner: GE Vernova in pumped hydro awards
Source: Discovery Alert
India's Installed Storage to Reach 346 GWh by 2033 — Tendered Capacity Has Already Crossed 90 GW
— Source: ESS News
Updated market analysis confirms India's installed stationary energy storage capacity is projected to reach 346 GWh by 2033, up from less than 1 GWh as recently as 2024. Most of the approximately 1.8 GWh of grid-scale BESS operational as of March 2026 came online in the final six months of FY2026 — a clear sign that the long-anticipated commissioning ramp has begun. Cumulative tendered energy storage capacity has climbed from 6.8 GW in 2018 to 90.7 GW in 2025.
Standalone BESS accounts for 60% of capacity tendered in 2025, signalling that the market has moved past hybrid-only auctions and that grid operators are now treating storage as an independent asset class with its own tariff curve. The 346 GWh outlook implies roughly 35–40 GWh of annual additions through the early 2030s, an order of magnitude beyond current execution velocity. Delivering that pipeline will require simultaneous progress on PLI-ACC commissioning, BESS tariff economics, domestic value-addition rules, and grid-interconnection processes.
Key data: Installed BESS (March 2026): ~1.8 GWh · 2033 projection: 346 GWh · Implied annual additions: 35–40 GWh · Tendered cumulative (2025): 90.7 GW · Standalone BESS share (2025 tenders): 60% · 2018 baseline: 6.8 GW tendered
Source: ESS News