The Ministry of Power (MoP) has issued an advisory to all state governments, central generating stations, and renewable energy implementing agencies (REIAs) on the integration of energy storage systems (ESS) with solar power projects to enhance grid stability and cost efficiency.
To support India’s target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030, the advisory highlights the need to scale up renewable energy capacity while addressing grid intermittency challenges. ESS will play a crucial role in improving grid reliability and optimising energy utilisation by storing excess solar energy for use during low renewable energy hours. To facilitate this, REIAs and state utilities are advised to incorporate a minimum of 2-hour co-located ESS, equivalent to 10 per cent of the installed solar project capacity, in future solar tenders. A compliance mechanism may also be introduced in bid documents to ensure the availability of storage during non-solar hours.