PSU strengthens its energy storage footprint as Haryana’s peak power planning gets a battery-backed boost
A landmark win in the storage race
NLC India Renewables Limited (NIRL) has emerged as the successful bidder for SJVN’s 265 MW/530 MWh standalone Battery Energy Storage System project in Haryana, securing the mandate at a discovered tariff of Rs. 2.35 lakh/MW/month. SJVN floated the tender as the Renewable Energy Implementing Agency on behalf of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, marking one of the more closely watched BESS auctions to conclude this season, with competition from names including Rama Reflection India, SolarWorld Energy, Pace Digitek, Sun Drop Energia and Oriana Power.
Two-part project, one shared purpose
The award splits into two components: a 250 MW/500 MWh installation under Project-1 and a smaller 15 MW/30 MWh allocation under Project-2, together forming a two-hour standalone BESS designed to help UHBVNL manage peak and off-peak demand on an on-demand basis. The tender, floated in July 2026, moved from bid to award in roughly a month, a pace that underlines how quickly grid-scale storage procurement is maturing in India.
Reading the tariff against the market
At Rs. 2.35 lakh/MW/month, the Haryana result comes in above the Rs. 1.97 lakh/MW/month SJVN discovered a few months earlier for a similarly sized 250 MW/500 MWh project at Panipat, yet still below the Rs. 2.38–2.40 lakh/MW/month band seen in MSEDCL’s recent BESS awards to Oriana and GK Energy. That places this outcome squarely within the current going rate for two-hour standalone storage nationally, even as India’s broader BESS tariffs have fallen sharply since the segment’s first tenders in 2022.
Funding structure behind the numbers
The project draws on Viability Gap Funding support of up to Rs. 18 lakh/MWh, or 30 percent of capital cost, whichever is lower, funded through the Power System Development Fund for Project-1 and the State Component of the VGF Scheme for Project-2. A cumulative 30 MWh of BESS capacity has been earmarked for Haryana under this support structure, underscoring the role central funding continues to play in making standalone storage bankable at scale.
What it means for NLC India’s storage ambitions
For NLC India Renewables, the win adds a significant storage asset to a renewable portfolio the parent company has been steadily scaling, reinforcing its position in a segment that is fast becoming as strategically important as generation capacity itself. As India leans harder into solar and wind, the ability to bank power for peak hours is what will decide which developers become genuinely indispensable to state discoms — and this award puts NIRL firmly in that conversation.