India’s energy storage market has reached an inflection point. What was once a landscape dominated by pilots and feasibility studies is now turning into a real build out of grid capacity. The year 2025 marks the moment when storage begins to sit alongside generation as critical infrastructure rather than an experiment.
According to the India Energy Storage Market Report 2025, a total of 102 GWh of energy storage capacity was tendered in 2025. This represents a jump of 1.4 times compared with the cumulative tenders seen in 2024. Within this, battery energy storage alone rose sharply, moving from 4 GWh in 2023 to 24 GWh and then to 60 GWh in 2025. The shift reflects both falling global battery costs and a clear push by policymakers through viability gap funding and supportive tender structures.
The tender pipeline is also evolving beyond simple storage add ons. New business models such as thermal plants paired with storage and storage as a transmission asset are beginning to surface. Competition at bids has intensified, and tariffs remain under debate, signalling that developers see storage as a long term strategic play rather than a niche bet.
Importantly, operational capacity is now visible on the ground. Eleven projects are currently running with a combined installed storage capacity of around 0.8 GWh. These include standalone battery systems as well as hybrid solar and storage projects across multiple states and utilities. For the first time, utilities are gaining real operating experience rather than trial runs confined to demonstration sites.
State level policies are reinforcing this direction. Large states including Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have linked renewable targets directly with storage deployment, providing land support, incentives and regulatory clarity. The combination of central schemes and state targets is beginning to create continuity for developers planning multi year portfolios.
India’s storage market is therefore entering a phase where tenders translate into assets, and assets begin to shape grid operations. The next few years will determine how fast this momentum converts into dependable multi gigawatt hour capacity. But the transition has clearly begun, and storage is now positioned as a core pillar of India’s renewable future. |
