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					</table>The Central Electricity Authority (<a href="https://cea.nic.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CEA</a>) has notified the Central Electricity Authority (Technical Standards for Construction of Electrical Plants and Electric Lines) Amendment Regulations, 2026, introducing technical standards for the construction of renewable energy projects and battery energy storage systems.
The amendment modifies the CEA Technical Standards for Construction of Electrical Plants and Electric Lines Regulations, 2022, and will come into force on April 1, 2027.
The regulations add a new chapter covering technical standards for solar, floating solar, onshore and offshore wind, , and battery energy storage system projects.
The amendment follows the publication of draft regulations in 2025, after the CEA considered stakeholders&#8217; objections and suggestions, and the issuance of the final regulations.
New Definitions and Common Technical Requirements
The amendment introduces definitions for battery energy storage and renewable energy systems, including battery energy storage system, battery container, battery module, battery rack, battery energy capacity, battery power capacity, battery management system, power conversion system, power plant controller, C-rate, cycle, depth of discharge, ramp rate, state of charge, and state of health.
Renewable energy projects and battery energy storage systems must be designed for continuous operation within grid frequency, voltage, power factor, and voltage-frequency limits prescribed under CEA grid connectivity standards.
Developers must maintain project documents at the site, including as-built drawings, design memoranda, technical descriptions, equipment data sheets, operating manuals, warranties, type test certificates, modeling files, test reports, and evaluation reports.
Every project must install a display board with the plant name, installed capacity, location, geographical coordinates, project type, and commissioning date. Projects with a capacity of 10 MW or more must install a World Meteorological Organization-compliant Automatic Weather Station to monitor wind speed, solar irradiance, ambient temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure.
The regulations also require phasor measurement units where applicable, harmonic analyzers, power plant controllers, secure communication systems, power quality meters, event data loggers, graded protection systems, cable segregation, voltage ride-through capability, and compliance with applicable safety standards.
Solar and Wind Projects
Solar projects must have a minimum design life of 25 years and should, as far as possible, avoid geological fault zones, flood prone areas, high tide zones, avalanche prone regions, and landslide prone locations.
The regulations prescribe a minimum spacing of 2.5 meters between module arrays, optimized photovoltaic orientation, foundations designed for expected loads, radio frequency identification tags on modules, salt mist corrosion testing in marine environments, water efficient panel cleaning systems, inverter efficiency of at least 98%, inverter operation between 0.9 leading and 0.9 lagging power factor, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data retention for 90 days with a minimum sampling rate of 1,000 samples per second.
Floating solar projects must meet additional requirements for water body selection, wind and wave assessment, anchoring and mooring, cable routing, and environmental protection. Solar modules must be installed at least 12 inches above the water level and 6 inches above the floater surface. Floaters must be ultraviolet-resistant, non-toxic, recyclable or reusable, salt-water-resistant, and have a minimum wall thickness of 2.5 mm.
Onshore wind projects must also have a minimum design life of 25 years and comply with standards covering wind resource assessment, turbine layout and spacing, logistics, foundations, transformers, communication systems, lighting, lightning protection, control rooms, and cybersecurity.
Wind turbines cannot be installed within 500 meters of a cluster of at least 15 inhabited buildings unless otherwise specified by the appropriate government.
Offshore wind projects must also comply with the National Offshore Wind Energy Policy, 2015. They must include requirements for seabed scour protection, a minimum 1.5-meter air gap above the highest seawater level, at least 22 meters of blade tip clearance above mean high water spring, embedded fiber-optic communication in export cables, N-1 reliability for export cables, and helipad and helihoist facilities at offshore substations.
Construction Norms for Battery Storage
The amendment introduces construction standards for battery energy storage systems covering site selection, civil works, equipment, safety systems, protection, communication, control rooms, and data management.
Battery energy storage projects may be developed for renewable energy integration, firming renewable capacity, energy arbitrage, transmission and distribution support, congestion management, substation auxiliary power, voltage support, black-start service, and other grid-interactive applications.
All systems must support active and reactive power control, voltage regulation, frequency response, fault and frequency ride-through, SCADA and energy management system integration, ramp rate control, and night mode operation. Projects with a capacity of 50 MW or more must also provide automatic generation control, grid-forming inverter capability, and black-start capability.
The regulations prescribe minimum performance guarantees of 90% output after five years, 80% after 10 years, and 70% after 15 years. They also require a minimum depth of discharge of 80%, a power conversion system efficiency of at least 95% with an isolation transformer, and a minimum AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency of 70%, including auxiliary consumption.
Operational data, including active and reactive power, frequency, disturbance records, event logs, and protection ride-through events, must be retained for at least 90 days with a minimum sampling rate of 1,000 samples per second and shared with the Regional Power Committee and the relevant load dispatch and control centers.
Recently, CEA <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cea-standardizes-timelines-for-interstate-transmission-system-implementation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> standard implementation timelines for interstate transmission system (ISTS) projects to improve predictability and coordination in transmission development.
Earlier this year, CEA <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/cea-flags-non-standard-transformer-ratings-in-state-utility-tenders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directed</a> all state power utilities to strictly follow its prescribed ratings when floating tenders for transformers with a minimum voltage class of 66 kV.

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