Govt weighs supply-profile tweaks to rescue stalled RE bids

For context, the administration is looking at changes in the supply profile of stalled renewable energy projects within the tariffs already discovered, including the addition of battery storage, to assist almost 42 GW of auctioned capacity secure buyers, Renewable Energy Secretary Santosh.

Key points

• For projects that remain unviable, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's July 2026 regulations provide a penalty-free exit route.
• Nevertheless, the administration does not expect every stalled project to find a buyer.
• Plain solar projects and some hybrid bids where cost discovery was high are probable to be the most vulnerable.
• He remarked developers were adding battery storage to vanilla solar bids to produce them "more palatable" to discoms.
• "If there is a requirement, there will be cancellation, but that is not our first option, " he continued.

Developers are already adding battery energy storage systems (BESS) to plain-vanilla solar projects to create them more attractive to distribution businesses that increasingly want electricity beyond daylight hours. While another 14-15 GW was awarded at relatively high tariffs, the shift is significant as standalone solar projects account for around 17-18 GW of the capacity yet to find offtakers.

"We have asked all the REIAs to look for ways in which discoms will be able to buy this, and if necessary, some changes in the profile also could be experimented within the rates discovered, " Sarangi remarked at the BNEF Summit. He remarked developers were adding battery storage to vanilla solar bids to produce them "more palatable" to discoms.

Nevertheless, the administration does not expect every stalled project to find a buyer. "A lot of those vanilla solar bids are not going to be sold, " Sarangi remarked.

"If there is a requirement, there will be cancellation, but that is not our first option, " he continued. REIAs will continue trying to secure buyers before moving towards cancellation.

For projects that remain unviable, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's July 2026 regulations provide a penalty-free exit route. Sarangi remarked developers that had furnished bank guarantees for connectivity can exit without forfeiting those guarantees.

Plain solar projects and some hybrid bids where cost discovery was high are probable to be the most vulnerable. Developers could either exercise the exit option or, eventually, REIAs may have to cancel such bids. "The backlog is going to whittle down, " Sarangi remarked.

In short, govt weighs supply-profile tweaks to rescue stalled RE bids is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.