{"id":103875,"date":"2026-05-18T09:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T04:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=103875"},"modified":"2026-05-18T16:56:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:26:46","slug":"indias-renewable-push-needs-energy-storage-solutions-for-grid-stability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-renewable-push-needs-energy-storage-solutions-for-grid-stability\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Renewable Push Needs Energy Storage Solutions for Grid Stability"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Energy Storage Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s rapid expansion of renewable energy is creating a major power management challenge because solar and wind energy are intermittent, while electricity demand remains continuous and often does not match generation patterns.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solar power stops after sunset, and wind output varies with weather, creating supply-demand mismatches that can strain grid stability.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This challenge is especially significant as <\/span><b>renewables account for 53%<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (283 GW) of India\u2019s total installed power capacity of 532 GW, with solar contributing over 150 GW.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a result, energy storage systems have become essential for balancing supply and demand, though India\u2019s storage capacity remains inadequate.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>What is Energy Storage<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Energy storage refers to systems that store excess electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar and wind during periods of high generation and release it later when demand rises but power generation is low.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These systems convert electricity into a storable form and then reconvert it into electricity when needed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Major Types of Energy Storage Systems<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Pumped Hydro Storage uses surplus electricity to pump water from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir. When electricity demand rises, the stored water is released downhill through turbines to generate power.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; BESS store electricity chemically and release it when needed. Lithium-ion batteries, especially Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries, dominate grid-scale storage due to their declining costs, high efficiency, and long lifespan. In 2025, LFP batteries accounted for over 90% of annual global storage additions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Concentrated Solar Thermal Storage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; This technology uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto a receiver, heating materials such as molten salt to store thermal energy. The stored heat is later used to generate steam and produce electricity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Compressed-Air Energy Storage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Excess electricity is used to compress air and store it in underground caverns or tanks. When demand increases, the compressed air is released to drive turbines and generate electricity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Flywheel Energy Storage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Flywheels store electricity as rotational energy by spinning a rotor at very high speeds. They are especially useful for instant power injection, grid stability, and managing short-term fluctuations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Gravity Energy Storage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; This system uses electricity to lift heavy weights to higher elevations. When power is needed, the weights are lowered, converting gravitational potential energy back into electricity through generators.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Energy Storage Capacity and Expansion Plans<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s energy storage deployment has not kept pace with the rapid expansion of renewable energy, raising concerns about the grid\u2019s ability to efficiently manage a growing share of intermittent power.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS): ~0.27 GW\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS): ~7.2 GW<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is primarily focusing on expanding the two major storage technologies:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for short-duration storage\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pumped Hydro Storage Projects (PSP\/PHS) for long-duration storage<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India\u2019s total energy storage capacity is projected to reach 174 GW \/ 888 GWh by 2035-36, comprising: 80 GW \/ 321 GWh of BESS; 94 GW \/ 567 GWh of PHS.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CEA expects 4\u20136 hour duration storage systems to become increasingly critical after 2030 as renewable energy integration deepens.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Role of Different Storage Technologies<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>BESS:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Best suited for short-duration storage and quick balancing needs\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>PHS\/PSP:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Better suited for long-duration storage and round-the-clock renewable energy supply, especially for commercial and industrial consumers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Energy Storage Expansion Plans and Key Challenge<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India is significantly scaling up its energy storage infrastructure across both pumped hydro and battery storage technologies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key concern is India\u2019s heavy reliance on imported battery storage components.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India imports 75\u201380% of its lithium-ion cells.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lithium-ion cells account for around 80% of the total cost of battery storage systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CEA has warned that global battery manufacturing is heavily concentrated in <\/span><b>one Asian country<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, creating risks related to: Geopolitical tensions; Trade disruptions; Price volatility.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This dependence could become a major obstacle to India\u2019s long-term energy storage and renewable energy ambitions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Global Trends in Energy Storage<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Globally, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) remains one of the most widely used electricity storage technologies, with an installed capacity of around 160 GW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leading Countries in PHS &#8211; China (~66 GW); Japan (21.8 GW); United States (18.9 GW); Europe (collectively ~28 GW)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Rapid Growth of Battery Energy Storage\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BESS are expanding rapidly worldwide, with total installed global capacity estimated at around 270 GW.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2025 alone, 108 GW of new battery storage capacity was added globally\u2014representing a 40% increase over 2024, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">China remained the global leader in battery storage deployment in 2025, accounting for nearly 60% of new global additions, followed by the United States and Europe.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Battery storage deployment is also accelerating in emerging regions such as Australia and parts of the Middle East, where storage is increasingly viewed as essential for electricity security and renewable energy integration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-sci-tech\/india-energy-storage-renewable-power-grid-explained-10681344\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Energy storage is critical for India\u2019s renewable expansion as solar and wind are intermittent. India plans major storage expansion but faces import dependence risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":103902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[7582,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-103875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-energy-storage","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103875"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103886,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103875\/revisions\/103886"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}