India has taken another major step toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future with the launch of a landmark tender combining large-scale solar power and battery energy storage. The Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a key government body driving renewable development, has issued a call for bids for 1.2 GW of solar capacity bundled with 600 MW/3.6 GWh of energy storage. The tender, which closes on August 20, 2025, is structured under a build-own-operate (BOO) model and underscores India’s growing reliance on energy storage to stabilize and decarbonize its power grid.
At the heart of this procurement round lies a strategic design: every megawatt of solar capacity must be backed by a minimum of 500 kW/3 MWh of battery storage. This mandate ensures that intermittent solar generation is supported by robust energy storage systems (ESS), capable of time-shifting output and mitigating grid imbalances. As such, the tender isn’t just about adding more renewables—it’s about building dispatchable, high-performance clean power assets.
A New Standard for Solar Procurement
This SECI tender signals a broader shift in how emerging markets are structuring renewable energy auctions. By embedding storage directly into the project design, the Indian government is ensuring that new solar installations contribute not only to decarbonization goals, but also to system flexibility and reliability—two of the biggest challenges in renewable energy integration.
Notably, the energy storage systems must be co-located with the solar facilities. However, developers have the flexibility to spread a single project across multiple sites, as long as at least one location includes the required ESS. This model allows project developers to optimize for land availability and grid connectivity while still fulfilling the technical storage obligations.
SECI will enter into 25-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with successful bidders, acting as an intermediary between the solar developers and a range of power buyers across the country. This back-to-back contracting approach reduces market risk for developers and helps stabilize long-term energy pricing—a critical factor for financing utility-scale battery energy storage systems.
Implications for the Global C&I Energy Storage Market
While the tender is framed as utility-scale, its implications reach far into the commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage sector. India’s push to integrate storage at scale could set a precedent for future public and private sector procurement, especially for commercial and industrial users seeking to manage energy costs and ensure power reliability amid growing grid instability.
As more companies in India and across the globe consider behind-the-meter energy storage to complement rooftop solar or hedge against demand charges, large government-led initiatives like this one help mature the broader battery energy storage ecosystem—from supply chains to system integrators and financial models.
Furthermore, this project aligns with India’s national targets under its Energy Storage Mission, which aims to create a domestic battery manufacturing and deployment industry that can support not only utility-scale applications but also distributed C&I ESS and electric mobility.
A Signal to Global Developers and Investors
For international players in the energy storage industry, this tender represents both a market opportunity and a directional signal. India is clearly committing to battery-backed renewables as a foundational piece of its grid modernization strategy. With supportive policy frameworks and increasing technical sophistication, India is poised to become one of the fastest-growing markets for energy storage in the Asia-Pacific region.
As developers and EPC firms prepare their bids, the demand for integrated solar-plus-storage solutions—and the expertise to deliver them—will likely surge. This could accelerate innovation in system design, hybrid asset control, and energy management strategies optimized for time-of-use pricing and load shifting.
Final Thoughts
India’s 1.2 GW solar and 3.6 GWh energy storage tender isn’t just about clean power capacity—it’s about proving that renewable energy can be made dispatchable and dependable. It reflects the increasing global recognition that battery energy storage systems are essential infrastructure, not optional add-ons.
For European readers and industry stakeholders, this development serves as a compelling case study of how emerging markets are leapfrogging to integrated energy solutions. As the European Union also continues to refine its storage targets and regulatory frameworks, there is much to learn—and much to gain—from watching how India balances affordability, scalability, and grid reliability in its renewable energy rollouts.
