India Targets 230 GWh Storage to Support 300 GW Peak Power Demand
India plans 230 GWh energy storage to support 300 GW peak demand. Former MNRE Secretary Bhupinder Singh Bhalla highlights the need for grid stability, flexibility, and reliability alongside capacity growth as the country moves toward its 500 GW non-fossil power target by 2030.
December 24, 2025. By News Bureau
Organised by FICCI with support from the Ministry of Power, MNRE and the Central Electricity Authority, the conference brought together policymakers, regulators, and industry leaders to address the challenges of renewable integration while managing thermal assets.
Bhalla underlined that India has already achieved 254 GW of renewable energy capacity, taking the country past 50 percent non-fossil capacity in overall installed power capacity.
He highlighted that renewables now account for 26 percent of total electricity generation, with a historic peak of 51 percent renewable generation on a single day this year. With peak demand expected to approach 300 GW in the coming years and electricity demand growing at six to seven percent annually, he stressed that India would require nearly 230 GWh of energy storage capacity by 2030 to ensure grid stability, flexibility and reliability.
Bhalla also stressed that capacity addition alone would no longer define success. “Reaching 500 GW is achievable, but the real challenge is integrating this capacity reliably into a rapidly expanding grid without compromising stability or affordability,” he said.
Speaking on technology, markets and manufacturing, RPV Prasad, Managing Director, Envision Energy India emphasised that India is entering a decisive phase of high battery and energy storage penetration aligned with the 500 GW renewable energy target by 2030.
“India is at a tipping point where falling battery prices, fast-charging ecosystems and strong policy support can enable storage to move from a balancing tool to a core grid resource that delivers resilience and flexibility at scale,” added Prasad.
Prasad called for against ultra-low bidding and weak technical standards, calling for robust safety frameworks, global best practices and diversified use-cases.
“To support a renewables-dominated grid, storage must be allowed to stack revenues across grid services, demand response and ancillary markets, while longer-duration solutions evolve to deliver baseload-like reliability,” he said.
Providing a market and investment lens, Ashish Mittal, Director, Energy and Commodities, CRISIL, noted that energy storage has emerged as the defining theme of India’s power sector, with over 212 GWh of storage capacity already tendered in just five to six years.
“Energy storage has moved from concept to execution, but this is only the beginning; achieving India’s 500 GW non-fossil target will require a cohesive national and state-level regulatory framework that gives investors long-term confidence,” said Mittal.
Highlighting the role of finance and market design, he pointed to the need for innovative funding structures.
“Cap-and-floor mechanisms, viability gap funding and storage-as-a-service models will be critical to de-risk investments and unlock private capital at the scale India now needs,” he stated.
From the financing perspective, Ashok Sharma, Deputy Managing Director, State Bank of India, highlighted that storage projects demand a fundamental shift in how risks are assessed and capital is deployed.
“Energy storage is capital-intensive, with batteries forming a majority of project costs, and financing frameworks must evolve to reflect the unique risk and revenue profiles of these assets.”
He underscored the importance of domestic manufacturing and technology diversity.
“India must pursue storage manufacturing with urgency while remaining technology-agnostic, leveraging batteries, pumped storage and emerging solutions to build long-term and resilient infrastructure.”
Summing up the deliberations, Sandy Khera, Country Manager and CEO, Enel Green Power, noted that India’s energy transition has firmly moved from ambition to execution.
“As renewable capacity scales rapidly, energy storage is no longer optional; it is indispensable for ensuring grid reliability, round-the-clock power and system-wide resilience.”
Khera highlighted that evolving policies, market structures and financial participation are creating early momentum, while cautioning against premature localisation mandates.
“India will need a portfolio approach, combining short-duration batteries, long-duration storage and pumped hydro, to meet diverse grid needs and make storage a strategic infrastructure for decades to come.”
The two day discussions reinforced a clear consensus: energy storage now sits at the centre of India’s clean energy transition, critical to delivering reliable, affordable and sustainable power as the country advances towards its 500 GW non-fossil capacity goal by 2030.
please contact: contact@energetica-india.net.
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