The Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Council has released its latest policy whitepaper, ‘System Needs and Policy Imperatives for Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Solutions in India, providing a blueprint for integrating LDES into India’s power system.
As India enters a phase of unprecedented economic expansion, its ambitious goal of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 is creating significant structural challenges in its energy system. The report highlights that while solar and wind are booming, the lack of long-duration flexibility is leading to significant underutilisation and missed opportunities.
Since April 2025 alone, solar curtailment has cost Indian power producers over USD 26 million in lost revenue due to curbing clean power to maintain grid stability.
The whitepaper calls for the establishment of a dedicated LDES policy within India’s National Framework for Promoting Energy Storage Systems, alongside targeted measures such as Viability Gap Funding (VGF) and clear deployment targets to support investment and deployment.
Furthermore, it highlights India’s growing energy storage requirements, drawing on projections from the National Electricity Plan as well as currently unaccounted demand driven by increasing electrification and sectoral power needs. The report also explores a range of long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology pathways, including electrochemical, mechanical, thermal and chemical storage solutions. In addition, it reviews international policy frameworks and deployment approaches, with case studies from the UK, USA, Australia and Italy. It further presents key policy considerations to support an enabling ecosystem for LDES in India, focusing on targets, financing pathways, market design and regulatory frameworks.
The analysis was developed with input from LDES Council members and energy sector stakeholders in India; expert organisations and start-ups in the LDES space, and has been presented to India’s NITI Aayog, India’s Ministry for Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
