India adds 4.6 GWh of battery storage capacity in Q1

India added 4.6 GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity in the first quarter of 2026, a 939% increase from the 442.7 MWh installed in the previous quarter, according to Mercom India Research’s “Q1 2026 India Energy Storage Landscape Report.”

The country’s cumulative installed battery storage capacity reached 5.9 GWh as of March 2026.

Standalone projects accounted for 73% of cumulative BESS capacity, followed by round-the-clock renewable energy projects combining solar, wind, and storage at 15%. Solar-plus-storage projects represented 11% of the total. Emerging configurations, including floating solar paired with storage, each accounted for less than 1%.

Mercom said India’s pumped hydro storage pipeline remained robust, with 57.2 GW under various stages of development. Of the country’s 7.2 GW of installed pumped storage capacity, 5.7 GW was operational as of the end of March.

Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group, said the rapid increase in installations and the expanding project pipeline show that energy storage is becoming an integral part of India’s electricity infrastructure. He attributed the growth to policy measures including the expansion of the viability gap funding program and storage mandates tied to new solar projects, while warning that continued growth will require realistic bidding practices, regulatory certainty, and policies that recognize storage as a strategic grid asset.

According to the report, India’s energy storage development pipeline reached 69 GWh in the first quarter. This included 41 GWh of standalone battery projects, 11 GWh of solar-plus-wind projects with storage, 9 GWh of solar-plus-storage projects, and 1 GWh of round-the-clock renewable energy projects combining solar, wind, and storage. Another 6 GWh consisted of renewable energy-plus-storage projects with unspecified configurations.

Among Indian states, Gujarat had the largest standalone battery storage pipeline, at 10 GWh.

From pv magazine India