India’s Battery Storage Additions Jump 84-Fold to 8.2 GWh in H1 2026

India added 8.2 GWh of battery energy storage capacity in the first half of 2026, up roughly 84-fold from 98.4 MWh in the same period of 2025, according to Mercom India Research’s “Q2 and 1H 2026 India’s Energy Storage Landscape Report,” published September 10, 2026. Cumulative installed battery storage capacity in India reached 9.3 GWh by the end of June 2026.

The report found that quarterly growth slowed in the second quarter: India added 3.6 GWh in Q2 2026, down 22 percent from roughly 4.6 GWh in Q1 2026. Standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) accounted for 83 percent of cumulative capacity and 98 percent of Q2 additions, while hybrid solar-plus-storage projects made up 8 percent of the total and solar-wind-plus-storage projects made up 9 percent.

Rajasthan and Gujarat lead state deployments

Rajasthan held the largest share of cumulative battery storage capacity at 36 percent, followed by Gujarat at 20 percent and Maharashtra at 5 percent, together accounting for more than 60 percent of India’s installed capacity, Mercom India Research found. On the project pipeline side, developers issued 28 GW of storage tenders in H1 2026, but only about 9 GW were auctioned, an 18 percent decline year-on-year.

“Utilities and developers alike are scaling up battery storage adoption,” said Priya Sanjay, managing director of Mercom India Research, in the report. Raj Prabhu, chief executive of Mercom Capital Group, said there is little reason for installations not to keep moving upward as tender activity and grid needs continue to grow, though the report did not include a numeric full-year 2026 forecast.

pv magazine India, in coverage published September 14, 2026, reported the same figures as Mercom India’s original article, including the 8.2 GWh total, the 84-fold year-on-year increase, the 22 percent quarterly decline, the state breakdown, and the tender figures, with no discrepancies between the two accounts.

Part of a broader storage buildout

The jump follows other recent moves toward long-duration and grid-scale storage in India. In July 2026, the Solar Energy Corporation of India awarded 1,344 MW of pumped hydro storage contracts and the country’s first utility-scale vanadium flow battery, and India’s solar capacity separately reached 162.15 GW, up 57-fold over the past decade. Growing solar capacity increases the need for storage that can shift midday generation into the evening demand peak; for background on how different storage technologies and durations fit into a power grid, see Winss’ explainer on grid-scale battery storage.

Background

Mercom India Research is the India-focused research arm of Mercom Capital Group, a Texas-based clean energy communications and market intelligence firm that tracks solar, storage and broader clean energy markets in India through quarterly and half-year landscape reports. The firm’s storage reports track installed capacity, project types, state-level deployment and tender activity across India’s power sector. India’s non-fossil installed power capacity crossed 50 percent of the national total in 2025, five years ahead of the government’s original schedule, a shift that has increased the country’s need for storage capable of holding solar power for release after sunset. The H1 2026 figures mark the latest data point in that buildout, with standalone battery systems now the dominant storage type being deployed.

Sources: Mercom India; pv magazine India

Featured image: photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels (free Pexels license).

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Figen Sekin

I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.