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India’s battery energy storage system (BESS) installations surged over 83-fold to 8.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the first half of 2026 from just 98.4 megawatt-hours (MWh) a year earlier, with more than 88% of the country’s entire operational battery storage capacity commissioned in just six months.
The sharp acceleration pushed cumulative installed capacity to 9.3 GWh at June-end.
The surge marks a significant shift in India’s battery storage deployment. The country added 8,200 MWh during January-June, against less than 100 MWh in the corresponding period last year, according to Mercom India Research’s ‘Q2 and 1H 2026 Energy Storage Landscape’ report. This indicates that the overwhelming majority of India’s existing operational battery capacity was installed in the first half of the current calendar year.
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Project tendering also gathered pace, with 28 GW of battery storage capacity tendered during the first six months, an increase of 86% year-on-year. The sharp rise in tendering indicates a substantial expansion in projects being offered for development beyond the capacity already commissioned.
However, the 28-GW tendering figure represents power capacity, while the 9.3-GWh operational figure represents energy storage capacity. The two are not directly comparable.
Standalone battery storage systems dominated operational capacity, accounting for 83% of the cumulative installations at June-end. The remaining capacity comprised battery systems integrated with renewable energy projects, including solar-plus-storage, solar-wind-storage and floating solar installations with battery storage.
The dominance of standalone projects highlights their substantial contribution to India’s battery storage expansion, even as renewable-linked storage systems form part of the installed portfolio.
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Rajasthan emerged as the largest battery storage market, accounting for 36% of the country’s cumulative installed capacity. The state accounted for more than a third of the operational market at the end of the first half.
TOPICSBatteryThis article was first uploaded on September twenty-five, twenty twenty-six, at two minutes past seven in the evening. © The Indian Express (P) Ltd