India’s Ministry of Defense has approved a 250 MW solar power project with a battery energy storage system at Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, on approximately 850 acres of vacant land.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh approved the project, which will be developed at the Sitapur ex-cantonment site. The project will be the Ministry’s first large-scale solar power generation facility with integrated battery storage support.

The project is part of the Ministry’s effort to use vacant defense land for renewable energy development.

In addition to strengthening long-term energy security for the Defense Forces, the project is expected to substantially reduce expenditures on procuring conventional grid power for defense establishments, resulting in significant savings for the Government exchequer over the project’s life cycle.

NTPC will implement the project through a competitive bidding process. The project will be carried out in coordination with the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense (Army) and the Directorate General of Defense Estates.

The Ministry said the project combines solar generation with battery storage, which can help support power supply requirements for defense establishments.

The announcement comes as government agencies and public-sector entities continue to identify land and infrastructure that can support clean energy deployment.

Upon completion, the Sitapur solar power project is expected to emerge as one of the country’s most significant renewable energy projects established on defense land and a benchmark for future solar-plus-storage projects in the defense sector.

India added nearly 547 MWh of battery energy storage capacity in 2025, around 26% year-over-year increase from over 433 MWh. India’s cumulative installed battery energy storage capacity reached almost 1,082 MWh as of December 2025. Solar-plus-storage systems accounted for more than 54% of the cumulative installed capacity.

Last October, the Solar Energy Corporation of India signed a memorandum of understanding with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to develop over 300 MW of large-scale renewable energy projects across DRDO establishments nationwide.