Adani Group Is Building One of the Largest Energy Storage System To Provide Reliable Grid Power

Adani Green Energy’s project, the Khavda Renewable Energy Park in Gujarat, is once again in the headlines, and this time it's about investments in energy storage. The company is already a leading solar power producer in India and is setting up India’s largest battery energy storage system with an energy capacity of 3,530 megawatt-hours. The project’s completion was expected to be in March 2026, but delays along the way have only led to 39% completion by April 2026. Regardless, this setup is impressive and might be the key towards solving India’s soaring energy demands while providing the country’s much needed energy independence.

3,530 Megawatt-Hours Sourced From 700 Containers

The Adani Group announced this investment in energy storage in November 2015, which comprises a lithium-ion battery system with cells spread out across 700 containers to provide a power capacity of 1,126 megawatts and an energy capacity of 3,530 megawatt-hours. This ESS is sufficient to provide and sustain the 3,530 megawatts output for around 3 hours when the renewable energy stops flowing. As of April 2026, the group has only installed 1,376 megawatt-hours, which is still impressive.

Where The Power Comes From

This one-of-a-kind energy storage system in India is located inside the Khavda Renewable Energy Park in Gujarat, which is the world’s largest renewable energy hub that spans 538 square kilometers. That is an area 5 times the size of Paris that is dedicated to generating solar and wind energy. Situated near the Pakistan border in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, this area experiences high wind speeds and solar radiation, making it viable for such a project.

Khavda is already operating at scale, and Adani added slightly over 5 GW (5,051 MW) of renewable energy capacity in the 2025–2026 financial year, bringing its total operational portfolio to 19.3 GW. This includes 3.4 GW (3,409 MW) of solar, 0.7 GW (686 MW) of wind and 1 GW (956 MW) of wind-solar hybrid capacity. Overall, Adani has deployed a cumulative installed capacity of 9.4 GW at the park out of the planned 30 GW target set for 2029.

What The ESS Means For The Grid

Wind and solar energy direct from the sources fluctuate during the day, and solar goes off when the sun sets. However, the country still needs regular power and demand usually peaks when the sun goes down because the lights have to be turned on. Without batteries, fossil fuel plants have to be turned on during these times to provide reliable baseload power to the country.

But batteries change the game entirely because they absorb excess energy generated during the day, then discharge it during the evening. This reduces the reliance on fossil fuel plants, while also easing power transmission congestion and reducing curtailment when grids waste the renewable energy generated that they can’t handle.

Adani Group’s target is to deploy 50 gigawatt-hours in total over the next 5 years, with the second installation of 15 gigawatt-hours of energy storage slated to be fully installed by March 2027. While this is a significant investment, it isn’t enough for the country because India’s Central Electricity Authority projects the nation will need approximately 34 gigawatt-hours of battery storage capacity by 2027. This is expected to rise exponentially to 236 gigawatt-hours by 2032, meaning the 50 gigawatt-hours Adani plans to deploy will be roughly a fifth of the country’s battery storage energy needs.

Such an investment is a step in the right direction though because India only had 0.5 gigawatt-hours of battery storage in April 2025 according to the country’s Energy Storage Alliance. Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani, stated that energy storage is the cornerstone of a future powered by renewable energy and this project his group is investing in will reinforce their commitment towards enabling India’s energy independence and sustainability.

These sentiments are valid because India has committed to generating 500 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030 with the goal of attaining net zero emissions by 2070. Since cheap renewable energy sources are intermittent, energy storage systems are critical towards determining if their energy can be adopted as baseload power. Cheap sources are mostly wind and solar. Other renewable energy sources like hydro and geothermal are stable enough to be used as baseload power, but they are expensive to set up. So the Khavda battery project is not just a means to store excess electricity. It is a project that tests whether India’s energy transition ambition can be developed and achieved within the stipulated timelines.

Energy Storage Systems in India vs. China

India is currently playing catch up in the energy storage system installed capacity because, while the Khavda project is the largest one, with Adani targeting 50 gigawatt-hours by 2030, China already has an installed capacity of over 189 gigawatt-hours. So by 2030, this figure could double considering China’s advancements in battery technology.

Also, India lacks significant domestic manufacturing of lithium battery technologies, so most of these installations will be imported from China. This might be one of the causes of the delay in the Adani project.

However, things might change because Indian battery manufacturing companies are increasingly partnering with their Chinese counterparts to manufacture energy storage solutions locally. Battery costs in India have also dropped significantly, and this has been primarily driven by competitive bidding and falling costs due to the support provided by Chinese suppliers.

The only area that India might want to focus on to push more investments in the energy storage systems space is by changing policies. Besides advancements in manufacturing, China has achieved the 189 gigawatt-hour feat by introducing mandatory regulations for energy storage installation. India, on the other hand, is heavily utilizing auctions for battery energy storage solutions to build capacity alongside investments in renewable energy projects. So it might take longer to catch up, but the country’s energy storage system sector is emerging, and the Adani Group is seeking to play a big role in the days to come.