The Indian government announced
a viability gap funding (VGF) worth
Rs 5,400 crore for developing
30-gigawatt hour (GWh) of new
battery energy storage systems
(BESS) to ensure round-the-clock
renewable energy capacities in the
country.
Announcing the approval of the
scheme, Union minister for power
Manohar Lal Khattar said it will be
in addition to the already existing
incentive worth Rs 3,700 crore
under which 13.2 GWh of BESS is
currently
under
implementation.
The initiative will attract invest-
ments worth Rs 33,000 crore.
The VGF will be provided from the
Power System Development Fund
(PSDF). The scheme is targeted at
15 states which will receive alloca-
tions of 25 GWh and NTPC Ltd that
will get 5 GWh. The union minister
said the first round of tender for the
new VGF will be floated within 3
months.
"India is targeting 393 GW of
renewable energy capacity (293
GW solar and 100 GW wind) by
2030. But renewable energy is
highly
intermittent
and
needs
energy storage solutions to ensure
round the clock power supply and
grid stability. Hence, BESS is
essential especially to meet peak
demand during non-solar hours,"
Khattar said in an interaction with
reporters.
India will meet its target of 50
percent
non-fossil
generation
capacity earlier than planned even
as the country saw the third-largest
growth in power generation capaci-
ty in the world after China and the
US in past five years, the Interna-
tional Energy Agency (IEA) has
said in its latest report.
In 2024, 83 percent of India's
investments in the power sector was
towards clean energy, the World
Energy Investment 2025 report,
released, said.
"India looks set to reach its 2030
target of 50 percent non-fossil
generation capacity ahead of sched-
ule... While growth in power gener-
ation has come from all sources,
there has been a surge in investment
in renewables, led by solar PV,
which constitutes more than half of
total non-fossil investment over this
period," the report said.
The government has been pushing
for cleaner energy to save India
precious foreign exchange and cut
emissions.
China spent $627 billion on clean
energy in 2024, the highest of all the
countries, the report said. The US
was next at $400 billion followed
by the European Union (EU) at $
386 billion.
N ews
INDIA ANNOUNCES RS 5,400 CRORE FUNDING SCHEME TO
BUILD 30 GWH BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE
INDIA SPENT $100 BILLION ON CLEAN ENERGY IN 2024,
CHINA $627 BILLION, SAY IEA
20 | June 2025 | www.industrialoutlook.in