daily · Clean Energy
India has tendered 100 GW of storage but commissioned 10.3 GW, as tariffs fall 80% faster than battery costs
India's commissioned storage capacity stood at about 10.3 GW by June 2026 - including 2.9 GW / 8.3 GWh of batteries - against more than 100 GW tendered, Tata Power strategy head Vaibhav Singh told Energy-Storage.News. Winning tariffs for two- and four-hour standalone batteries fell more than 80% between 2022 and 2026 while pack prices fell only about 40%, leaving around 75% of allocated two-hour capacity assessed as at risk.
By Greener Numbers Editorial Team · Published October 21, 2026 · Updated 10/21/2026
India's battery storage market is entering what Tata Power's head of strategy Vaibhav Singh calls a critical phase: a rapidly expanding pipeline is meeting the realities of financing, execution and commercial viability. By June 2026, India's commissioned storage capacity stood at approximately 10.3 GW, including around 2.9 GW and 8.3 GWh of battery energy storage, while more than 100 GW had been tendered, Singh said in an interview with Energy-Storage.News published October 21.
The Central Electricity Authority projects India's storage requirement will rise from around 82 GWh in fiscal year 2026-27 to about 411 GWh by FY2031-32, comprising roughly 236 GWh of battery storage and 175 GWh of pumped storage hydro in the latter year.
The central problem is bankability. Competitive auctions cut two-hour and four-hour standalone battery tariffs by more than 80% between 2022 and 2026, while battery-pack prices fell only around 40% over the same period, Singh said. The lowest two-hour tariff in the 2025 standalone market fell to around 148,000 rupees per MW per month, against an indicative viability benchmark of approximately 230,000 rupees - and around 75% of allocated two-hour capacity was assessed as potentially at risk.
Government support is substantial. The June 2025 PSDF programme provides 54 billion rupees in viability gap funding at 1.8 million rupees per MWh for 30 GWh of battery projects - 25 GWh across 15 states and 5 GWh to NTPC - and the CEA indicates the various VGF components together support around 43.85 GWh. On the supply side, the 181 billion rupee Advanced Chemistry Cell production-linked incentive programme aims to accelerate domestic cell manufacturing.
That manufacturing build-out has its own gap: Wood Mackenzie estimates India remains roughly 10 to 15 years from a globally competitive, self-sufficient cell industry despite more than 226 GWh of announced manufacturing capacity through 2035, and expects locally produced cells to cost 25 to 40% more than imports at first. Singh pointed to demand drivers including evening peak shifting, renewable firming, firm dispatchable renewable energy, ancillary services and commercial and industrial applications, alongside emerging merchant storage opportunities.
Globally, battery storage added a record 108 GW in 2025, up around 40% year on year, with China accounting for roughly 60% of additions - a cost-learning curve Singh said India can ride rather than recreate.
Official source: Energy-Storage.news ↗