Sunday, 1 November 2026

India's goal of reaching 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030 depends on rapidly expanding long-duration energy storage, according to a report released on Friday. The report points to the anticipated FY28 viability gap funding framework as a critical enabler.

The study, titled 'Long-Duration Energy Storage: Global Outlook and India's Deployment Pathway' and produced by the IESA and CES, identifies the FY28 viability gap funding framework as a key enabler for accelerating long-duration energy storage deployment.

Over eight months in 2025, India curtailed 2.3 TWh of solar energy because of grid and storage constraints, the report said. It framed the curtailment as evidence of the need to improve grid flexibility and capture more renewable generation.

India's Central Electricity Authority projects a battery energy storage system requirement of 34.5 GWh by FY2027.

The annual failure rate of lithium-ion battery energy storage systems fell 98% globally between 2018 and 2025, according to a report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

EPRI calculated the rate by analyzing incidents per GWh deployed globally.

In 2025, 24 incidents were recorded across 634 GWh of cumulative deployed capacity, according to the report. That compares with 26 incidents across 343 GWh in 2024.

EPRI attributed the decline to improvements in system design, manufacturing, battery management and safety regulations.