Storage Becomes a Compliance Line: Bihar's Draft and India's 1H 2026 Tenders

India's distribution utilities are being asked to buy a different kind of power. Mercom's review of first-half 2026 procurement shows storage and hybrid projects taking the largest share of what agencies tendered and auctioned, while a draft regulation issued in Bihar in September would turn a long-standing national storage target into a state-level obligation starting in 2026-27. Read together, the two developments show storage moving from a project category to a standing line in the distribution licensee's compliance and operating plan.

What the first-half 2026 tenders show

According to Mercom India, agencies in India tendered 44.1 GW of renewable capacity and auctioned 16.3 GW in the first half of 2026. Storage and hybrid projects accounted for 45% of the capacity tendered. Within the 16.3 GW auctioned, hybrid projects held the largest share at 37%, followed by energy storage at 21%, utility-scale solar at 19% and wind at 17%, with rooftop solar and manufacturing making up the remaining 6%. Hybrid and storage combined therefore represented more than 58% of everything auctioned.

Mercom describes the trend as a shift toward flexible, dispatchable power rather than standalone generation. The same report notes that around 28 GW of module supply capacity was still waiting to be auctioned as of June 2026, a reminder that conventional solar procurement has not stopped, only lost its position as the default.

The direction is not unique to India. Data from the US Energy Information Administration, summarised by pv magazine USA and republished on ESS News, points to 24.3 GW of new US battery storage coming online in 2026, above the 15 GW record set in 2025. Battery storage and solar together make up 79% of planned 2026 capacity additions, and about 48% of the storage already on the US grid is co-located with solar.

Storage is now a regulatory obligation

The national frame came first. A Ministry of Power order dated 22 July 2022 set an energy storage obligation that rises from 1 per cent in 2023-24 to 4 per cent by 2029-30. The obligation is calculated in energy terms as a proportion of total electricity consumption, and it counts as met only when at least 85 per cent of the energy stored comes from renewable sources in that year, in practice through solar and wind projects paired with storage.

Two details in that wording matter operationally. The percentage is tied to consumption, so it scales with the utility's own demand rather than with any single project. And the 85 per cent condition makes the origin of the stored energy a reportable fact, which is a data question before it is a contract question.

The Bihar draft: a state sets the pace

On 17 September 2026 the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission issued draft amendments to its renewable purchase obligation regulations, as reported by SolarQuarter. The draft proposes a storage obligation of 2.5% for 2026-27, 3% for 2027-28, 3.5% for 2028-29 and 4% for 2029-30. It applies to distribution licensees, open access consumers and captive power plant users. Stakeholder comments are due by 8 October 2026, with a public hearing scheduled for 13 October 2026.

Compared with the national order, the draft starts higher (2.5% in 2026-27 against 1% in 2023-24) and ends at the same 4% in 2029-30, so the path is compressed rather than the destination changed. Because this is a draft, the numbers can still change after the hearing.

What it means for utilities

Three practical consequences follow for a distribution utility planning against these numbers.

First, forecasting and scheduling move to the centre. Hybrid and storage-backed supply is only valuable if it is dispatched against the utility's actual demand shape. That calls for reliable load forecasts at feeder and substation level, and a power-purchase portfolio view that treats storage as an asset with a state of charge rather than as a flat block of energy.

Second, metering and data quality become compliance infrastructure. An obligation expressed as a share of consumption, with an 85 per cent renewable-origin condition on stored energy, needs consumption and energy-source records that can be audited. Utilities with interval data from smart meters and a clean energy-accounting layer will find reporting far simpler than those relying on estimated or monthly readings.

Third, control systems must see storage. As storage and hybrid plants connect at transmission and distribution level, operations teams need them visible in SCADA and in distribution and DER management tools, with clear rules on who can dispatch and when. The tender figures suggest this is a near-term operating question rather than a long-range one.

Key takeaways

• Hybrid and storage projects made up more than 58% of the 16.3 GW auctioned in India in the first half of 2026, and 45% of the capacity tendered.
• The national storage obligation runs from 1% in 2023-24 to 4% by 2029-30, with an 85% renewable-origin condition on stored energy.
• Bihar's draft would apply 2.5% in 2026-27, rising to 4% by 2029-30, to distribution licensees, open access consumers and captive users; comments close on 8 October 2026.
• US data point the same way: 24.3 GW of new battery storage is expected in 2026, much of it paired with solar.
• Forecasting, interval metering data and SCADA visibility of storage are prerequisites for compliance, not afterthoughts.

Sources

• Energy Storage-Backed Renewable Tenders Dominate Procurement in 1H 2026 (Mercom India)
• New US battery capacity in 2026: 24.3 GW of new battery storage to come online (ESS News)
• MoP issues RPO and energy storage obligation trajectory till 2029-30 (Power Line)
• BERC proposes 4% energy storage obligation by 2029-30 under draft RPO amendment regulations in Bihar (SolarQuarter)