Amendments to the bidding guidelines for solar, hybrid, firm-and-dispatchable RE and battery storage — draft
Comments due: 25 November 2026
The Ministry of Power has proposed changes to four tariff-based bidding guidelines so that storage paired with solar and hybrid projects follows central storage and domestic-content rules. It would also make the Payment Security Fund charge on standalone battery projects optional.
Why it matters. It would tie central renewable tenders to the CEA's proposed co-located storage mandate and to made-in-India batteries, changing how tenders are drafted and priced.
What changes
- Solar guidelines: solar power may be bought with or without storage, subject to any central orders or CEA regulations that mandate storage and its domestic content.
- Wind-solar hybrid guidelines: storage for the solar part becomes mandatory ('shall' instead of 'may') where central orders or CEA regulations require it, and must meet domestic-content rules.
- Firm and dispatchable RE guidelines: storage must meet domestic-content requirements set by the Centre.
- BESS guidelines: requests for selection must include domestic-content compliance for battery projects; bidding parameters and the 8-year minimum contract term are unchanged.
- Payment Security Fund charge on BESS developers made optional and capped at Rs 5 lakh/MWh (previously a fixed Rs 5 lakh/MWh), and may be collected in instalments.
Who is affected
RE developers · BESS developers · REIAs (NTPC, NHPC, SJVN, SECI) · Discoms · Storage manufacturers
Sources
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