Energy storage and domestic manufacturing are the next frontiers of India's solar transition. Analyse.

By 31 December 2025, non-fossil sources made up 51.93% of India's installed power capacity (266.79 GW of 513.73 GW) [1]. This meets the 2030 NDC capacity target years early. Building capacity is now the easier part. The transition depends on two harder questions: can solar power be used when people need it (storage), and can India build the equipment at home (manufacturing)?

Storage: making installed capacity usable

• Faster growth, uneven supply: solar capacity rose from about 3 GW in 2014 to 129 GW in 2025 [2]. But solar produces power only in daylight, while demand peaks after sunset. That evening peak is still met by coal.
• Capacity is not generation: a 50% share of capacity does not mean 50% clean electricity. Storage is what turns installed GW into units available at peak hours.
• Wasted power: without batteries, pumped hydro and transmission lines, extra solar power at midday is curtailed (thrown away).
• Policy response: the Viability Gap Funding scheme for BESS (battery energy storage systems) covers up to 40% of capital cost and aims for 4,000 MWh by 2030-31 [3].
• Gaps: battery costs are high, and lithium and other critical minerals are imported.

Manufacturing: securing the supply chain

• Imports upstream: many modules are assembled from imported cells, and wafers and polysilicon come mostly from China.
• Target: Swadeshi (made-in-India) solar cells by 2028, followed by wafers and ingots [4].
• PLI for High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules: the total outlay is ₹24,000 crore, and awards cover 39,600 MW of integrated manufacturing [5].
• Benefits: energy security, jobs and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Gaps: limited technology, heavy capital needs and weak cost competitiveness against established suppliers.

How the two connect

Installed GW ──► Storage ──► Clean power at peak hours
      ▲              ▲
      └── Domestic manufacturing (panels + batteries) ──┘

Fig: Manufacturing supplies both capacity and storage

Domestic manufacturing protects capacity additions from supply shocks. Storage makes sure that capacity actually reduces emissions. Batteries and solar cells also depend on the same critical-mineral supply chains.

Storage and manufacturing together decide whether India's capacity success becomes a clean, secure power system. The way forward:

• require storage in new solar tenders;
• publish the non-fossil share of electricity generated, not just capacity;
• extend manufacturing support upstream to wafers and battery cells.

This would advance SDG 7, the net-zero 2070 goal and Viksit Bharat @2047.