Only 50% of the standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) projects evaluated in a new industry survey showed positive project economics and economic viability under modeled assumptions, highlighting the continuing cost challenges facing the industry sector, according to the ‘Levelized Cost of Storage and Bidding Trends in Indian Energy Storage Projects’ report released by Mercom India Research.

Thirty companies won Hubballi Electricity Supply Company’s (HESCOM) auction to commission 80 solar power projects totaling 423.7 MW, along with their associated 11 kV lines and remote monitoring systems under the RESCO mode. The successful bidders include Sri Srinivasa Constructions, Ravindra Energy, Solar91 Cleantech, Nithin Sai Constructions, Mahaveer Electro Mech, G G Anandswamy Gaddadevarmath, Savio Bio Organic and Fertilizers, Shri Mallikarjun Petroleum, Anil Patted Solar Energy, and Lovedales Edutech.

In a major relief for the renewable energy sector, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy approved time extensions for projects delayed due to the prolonged case in the Supreme Court over power transmission lines in the Great Indian Bustard areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The time extension will be calculated from the later of the date on which the developer applied for approval under Section 68 of the Electricity Act, 2003, or March 21, 2024, up to December 19, 2025, the date on which the Supreme Court delivered its final judgment.

The Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the tariff discovered through competitive bidding for setting up 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh of standalone battery energy storage systems. The approved tariffs range between ₹177,500 (~$1,968)/MW/month and ₹178,500 (~$1,979)/MW/month. The Commission directed Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam to publicly disclose the names of the successful bidders and their respective tariffs on its website for 30 days after execution of the battery energy storage purchase agreements.

The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission approved the procurement of 1.2 GW of firm and dispatchable renewable power by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation through a long-term power sale agreement with SJVN. The approval covers power sourced from interstate transmission system-connected renewable energy projects integrated with energy storage systems and discovered through a tariff-based competitive bidding system.

Renewable energy generation in Rajasthan continues to experience large-scale curtailment, despite new transmission projects coming online. The recently commissioned 765 kV Khetri–Narela interstate transmission line was expected to ease evacuation constraints for renewable projects in western Rajasthan. On the ground, however, developers say little has changed during peak solar hours. The concern was raised at a Central Electricity Authority meeting convened to address renewable energy curtailment in the state.

The Himachal Pradesh government decided to install rooftop solar systems on buildings at all state health institutions as part of a broader renewable energy push. The rooftop solar systems will be installed in phases to promote green energy and reduce electricity costs. As a part of its renewable energy initiative, the government has set a target to install solar energy projects with a total capacity of 500 MW within the next two years.

NLC India approved the listing of its wholly-owned subsidiary, NLC India Renewables (NIRL), on the stock exchanges through the sale of up to 25% of its equity. The NLC board’s in-principle approval of the listing proposal will be communicated to the Ministry of Coal for onward submission to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management. The board of NLC India also approved investing ₹666 million (~$7.38 million) in NIRL by subscribing to its equity shares.

Government-owned lender Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) reported revenue from operations of ₹21.3 billion (~$236.2 million) in the third quarter of the financial year 2026, a 25% year-over-year (YoY) rise from ₹16.98 billion (~$188.3 million). IREDA attributed the jump in revenue to 32% higher loan disbursements which rose to ₹98.6 billion (~$1.09 billion) from ₹74.49 billion (~$826.0 million) a year ago. IREDA’s profit after tax stood at ₹5.85 billion (~$64.9 million), a 38% YoY jump from ₹4.25 billion (~$47.1 million).

Researchers at the University of Newcastle developed a safe and effective method to recover high-grade silver from end-of-life solar panels without using acid, offering a potential breakthrough for the solar recycling and resource recovery industries. The new process helps recover more than 97% of the silver from an end-of-life photovoltaic panel within just a few minutes, marking a significant improvement over conventional recovery methods that take several hours and rely heavily on chemical-intensive processes that pose environmental and safety challenges at scale.

Around a fifth of the solar panels examined in a news study by the University of New South Wales were found to fail much faster than expected, with some likely to last for only half of their lifetime. Researchers identified the reason behind the so-called ‘long tail’ in the probability distribution of the performance data after analyzing information obtained from nearly 11,000 different photovoltaic samples globally.