India’s installed energy storage capacity stood at 490 megawatt-hours (MWh) by the end of June 2025, according to Mercom India’s latest Energy Storage Landscape 1H 2025 Report, signaling steady but uneven progress toward the country’s renewable integration goals.
Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, and Gujarat together account for nearly three-quarters of national capacity, underscoring a geographic concentration that may shape future grid flexibility strategies.
Karnataka leads with 33% of the country’s operational capacity, driven by its early adoption of solar-plus-storage hybrids. Chhattisgarh follows with 24%, leveraging industrial demand centers and grid-balancing projects, while Gujarat’s 16% share reflects the state’s expanding renewable portfolio and proactive storage policy framework. The regional distribution illustrates where regulatory clarity and supportive procurement models have translated into tangible deployment.
Solar-plus-storage projects dominate India’s storage landscape, representing roughly 56% of cumulative capacity. These systems have proven most viable in utility-scale projects where solar variability directly impacts dispatch reliability. Solar-plus-wind hybrids account for another 32%, reflecting a policy shift toward round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy procurement — a model increasingly favored by state utilities seeking firmed green power.
Standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) make up just over 12% of installed capacity, highlighting the early-stage economics of storage as an independent asset class. These systems remain constrained by limited revenue streams, despite growing participation in frequency regulation and ancillary service markets. Floating solar with storage and mixed solar-wind configurations comprise the remainder, serving niche applications tied to industrial or localized grid resilience needs.
Complementing battery systems, India maintains about 5 gigawatts (GW) of operational pumped storage capacity — a legacy technology now regaining relevance as renewables scale. However, analysts note that modernizing existing pumped storage assets and co-locating them with renewable hubs could unlock faster dispatch capabilities and lower overall system costs.
The data reveal a sector still transitioning from pilot scale to commercial maturity. While hybrid tenders from Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and state utilities have catalyzed deployments, developers continue to face challenges in financing, tariff design, and grid interconnection.
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