India’s renewable energy sector has reached a critical juncture, where the focus has shifted from just increasing installed capacity to ensuring that power can be generated and dispatched when it’s needed most. Despite significant additions to solar capacity over the past decade, the nation still faces a structural limitation: generation is tied to daylight hours, while peak demand from households and industries occurs after sunset. To address this challenge, the industry must prioritize projects that can deliver electricity beyond daylight hours.
Ratul Puri, Chairman of Hindustan Power, has been a vocal proponent of this “execution-first” philosophy, emphasizing the need for renewable energy to provide consistent, long-term economic value. To achieve this, battery storage must become a design fundamental, rather than just an add-on to solar projects. Recent developments in the Hindustan Power portfolio demonstrate an integrated approach, including solar-storage hybrids, peak-demand alignment, and standalone grid support.
The shift towards a more reliable and dispatchable renewable energy system has significant policy and economic implications. India aims to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, and to get there, the regulatory framework must evolve to incentivize “round-the-clock” (RTC) power rather than just “as-available” energy. This requires a focus on “dispatchable megawatt-hours” rather than just “installed megawatts.”
The industry must move beyond the simplicity of installed capacity and embrace the complexity of ensuring that renewable energy can support the heavy-duty requirements of a growing economy. By solving the storage puzzle, India can turn its solar potential into a stable, 24/7 reality. State governments are already prioritizing reliability over simple nameplate capacity, with examples such as a ₹620-crore memorandum of understanding for a 100 MW solar project integrated with battery storage in Assam.
In conclusion, India’s renewable energy journey has reached a critical inflection point, where the focus must shift from just increasing capacity to ensuring that power can be generated and dispatched when it’s needed most. By prioritizing projects that can deliver electricity beyond daylight hours and embracing the complexity of dispatchable megawatt-hours, the industry can ensure that renewable energy provides consistent, long-term economic value and supports the growth of the economy.