Que: Renewable installations, particularly solar and wind, are growing rapidly across the country. How do you see the energy ecosystem evolving over the next decade as India moves closer to its 2030 targets?

Ans: India’s transition to renewable energy is entering a rapid scale phase. In FY 2024-25 alone, India added a record 29.52 GW of renewable capacity, boosting total clean power to 220.10 GW, 44 percent of the way to the 500 GW non-fossil target by 2030.

The next decade will mark a shift from the clean energy ‘era’ of simply adding renewable capacity to a more mature, post-hydrocarbon phase focused on building a resilient, value-driven energy ecosystem. As solar and wind, by nature variable sources, continue to expand their share in the grid, energy storage infrastructure will become just as critical as generation capacity itself.

As India moves toward its 2030 targets, the energy ecosystem will increasingly revolve around three pillars: renewable generation, grid modernisation, and large-scale long-duration energy storage. Storage will enable excess energy generated during peak solar or wind periods to be stored and deployed during evening peaks or low-generation hours.

In essence, the next phase of India’s energy transition will not just be about producing clean power, but about managing when and how that power is delivered to the grid.

Que: Data from the Central Electricity Authority indicates that solar curtailment is already emerging as a challenge. What does renewable curtailment signal about the current limitations of India’s grid infrastructure?

Ans: Renewable curtailment can be an early indication that the grid is having trouble absorbing a growing percentage of variable renewable energy. For India, it’s a reflection of the mismatch between when renewable energy is being produced and when power demand occurs.

Solar generation, for example, reaches its peak during the middle of the day when demand is not always at its highest. Lacking sufficient storage or grid flexibility, the system is sometimes left with no alternative but to curtail generation.

With nearly 4 GW of solar capacity in Rajasthan being hit by transmission constraints, Tamil Nadu curtailing 8-10M units daily and National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) reporting losses hitting USD 26M since April 2025 in Rajasthan amid grid congestion, Li-ion alone cannot deliver round-the-clock (RTC) firm capacity. Curtailment essentially means that we are wasting clean energy that we have already produced.


This highlights two structural limitations. First, transmission infrastructure needs to expand faster to move renewable power from generation-heavy regions to demand centres. Second, and equally important, we need large-scale storage systems that can capture excess renewable energy and release it when demand rises.

Que: Energy storage is increasingly being viewed not just as a backup solution but as critical grid infrastructure. How is this perception evolving within India’s power sector?

Ans: Energy storage was considered primarily as a backup solution for years now; it was something that provided power during outages or short-term fluctuations. That perception is quickly changing.

With storage rapidly getting recognised as core infrastructure necessary for renewable integration, grid stability, and energy security, it has become our focus to ensure that energy storage will be part of a 24-hour power supply in the next 5–10 years. It is integral to balancing supply and demand across the system, minimising curtailment, and enabling a dependable flow of renewable power.


However, much of the current focus in India has been on short-duration storage solutions, typically designed for one to four hours of energy discharge. While it is essential for grid balancing, as per the LDES Council’s 2024 Annual Report, as renewable penetration increases, grid flexibility will require long‑duration storage technologies, defined as having discharge durations of eight hours or more, with a need for increasingly long inter‑day and multi‑day storage as systems move toward higher shares of variable renewables.

Long-duration storage helps address multi-hour and multi-day variability in renewable generation and ensures that clean energy can be available even when solar or wind output is low. In many ways, storage is what completes the renewable grid.

Que: Many experts suggest that the next phase of the energy transition will depend on coordinated planning across generation, storage, and transmission. How critical is this integrated approach for achieving India’s renewable energy ambitions?

Ans: An integrative approach is essential. Historically, power systems were designed around centralised generation sources that produced fairly constant output. Renewable energy flips that paradigm completely.

And when the generation is variable, the grid will be designed for storage capacity and transmission infrastructure to integrate with forecasting tools. Planning these elements in silos can lead to bottlenecks, for instance, when large renewable play parks are developed without adequate transmission capacity or storage options to address fluctuations.

When you plan everything together – renewable energy, the grid, and storage, you get a power system that actually works. It’s not just more reliable; it costs less, too. For India to hit its big renewable energy goals, the grid needs to change.

It has to be flexible, run on smart digital systems, and make room for storage. That way, energy moves smoothly from where it’s made to where it’s stored and finally to the people who need it.

Que: What lessons can India draw from global energy markets that are already integrating large volumes of renewable energy with storage?

Ans: Several global energy markets offer valuable lessons as India scales renewable deployment.

Firstly, nations with high renewable penetration have confirmed that energy storage must operate like strategic infrastructure rather than an optional extra. Markets like the United States, parts of Europe and Australia are moving increasingly to invest in long-duration storage alongside existing assets for grid resilience.

Second, policy and market mechanisms matter. Across the advanced world, these markets have introduced capacity markets, storage incentives and grid services payments, making storage deployment financially compelling.

Finally, grid modernisation and digital forecasting tools are key. Advanced forecasting allows operators to predict renewable output and deploy storage more efficiently to balance the grid.

India has the advantage of learning from these experiences and designing its energy transition with storage embedded into the system from the outset, rather than adding it later as a corrective measure.

Que: As an iron-air storage innovator, how is Meine Electric contributing to advancing long-duration energy storage solutions in India?

Ans: Meine Electric specialises in revolutionary iron-air batteries for long-duration storage. Our iron-air batteries utilise cheap and abundant materials such as iron, so they are ideal for large-scale and low-cost deployment.

Whereas classical lithium batteries perform exceptionally over short periods, iron-air batteries shine when it comes to energy storage over extended periods. With the ability to charge within ~6 hours – aligned with periods of solar surplus – and discharge over 16–24 hours, iron-air technology is optimally positioned for deep solar integration. Additionally, the projected LCOS of INR 2.5–3/kWh over multi-day cycles makes it a highly cost-effective solution for long-duration storage.


Our goal is to enable renewable energy to become a truly dependable power source by ensuring that surplus energy can be stored and delivered whenever the grid needs it.

By advancing iron-air technology in India, we aim to contribute to building affordable, scalable, and domestically developed long-duration storage infrastructure that can support the country’s renewable energy ambitions.

Que: As a woman leader in this space, how do you see the role of women evolving in shaping India’s clean energy transition?

Ans: The energy transition represents one of the largest opportunities for economic growth and wealth creation in the coming decade. It is estimated that India’s energy transition alone could attract over USD 10 trillion in investments by 2070, and create millions of new jobs across manufacturing, deployment, and operations. We simply cannot afford to leave half the population out of this opportunity.

At the same time, clean energy is one of the most exciting frontiers for innovation today – spanning areas like storage, green hydrogen, and decentralised systems. Encouragingly, we are seeing more women step into roles across engineering, research, policy, and entrepreneurship. However, representation remains uneven – globally, women make up only about 22 percent of the energy workforce, with even lower participation in technical and leadership roles in India.

The energy transition is not just about new technologies; it is also a chance to make the industry more inclusive and diverse from the ground up. Diverse teams are proven to perform better – companies with gender-diverse leadership are up to 25 percent more likely to outperform financially and they bring varied perspectives that are critical for solving complex challenges like climate change and energy security.

While progress has been encouraging, there is still a lot of work to be done in ensuring the representation of women in technical and leadership roles across the clean energy sector. Expanding access to STEM education, strengthening mentorship networks, and creating more inclusive workplaces will be key to increasing participation. Ultimately, the goal is not just to have more women in the sector, but to ensure they are actively shaping technologies, policies, and business models that will define India’s clean energy future.