New Delhi: India added 4.6 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery energy storage capacity in the first three months of 2026, a 941 percent increase over the 442.7 megawatt-hours (MWh) added in the October-December 2025 quarter, a report has said.
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The country's cumulative installed battery energy storage capacity stood at 5.9 GWh as of March 2026, according to the latest India's Energy Storage Landscape Report by Mercom India Research.
"The strong growth in Q1 2026, coupled with a rapidly expanding project pipeline, reflects how quickly energy storage is becoming a core part of India's power infrastructure," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group.
Standalone energy storage made up 73 percent of the cumulative capacity, followed by solar-plus-wind with storage projects offering round-the-clock capabilities at 15 percent, and solar-plus-battery energy storage projects at 11 percent. The remaining share was spread across emerging configurations, including solar-plus-wind with storage and floating solar with storage, each contributing less than 1 percent.
The pumped storage project (PSP) pipeline remained strong at 57.2 GW across various stages of development. Of the 7.2 GW installed, 5.7 GW was operational as of March 2026.
Rajasthan accounted for the largest share of cumulative installed energy storage capacity at 42 percent, ahead of Gujarat at 25 percent and Maharashtra at 9 percent.
India's energy storage development pipeline reached 69 GWh in Q1 2026. This comprised 41 GWh of standalone storage, 11 GWh of solar-plus-wind with storage, 9 GWh of solar-plus-energy storage, and 1 GWh of solar-plus-wind with storage projects with round-the-clock capabilities. A further 6 GWh came from renewable energy-plus-storage projects. Gujarat held the largest standalone battery storage pipeline at 10 GWh.
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Multiple agencies floated tenders totalling 18 GW during Q1 2026 and auctioned more than 4 GW of standalone storage projects. Tender activity rose 47 percent from 12 GW in the fourth quarter of 2025, while auction volumes fell 61 percent from 11.1 GW in the same prior period.