Six companies have won Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam’s (RVUNL) auction to set up a 500 MW/2,000 MWh standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) under the build-own-operate model in the state.

The tender was issued in August 2025.

Patanjali Ayurved won a capacity of 250 MW/1,000 MWh. Ultravibrant Solar Energy,  Rama Reflection India, Mecpower Solutions, Bhagwati Lacto Vegetarian Exports, and Diwakar Renewable & Infra (Diwakar Solar) each won a capacity of 50 MW/200 MWh. All companies quoted a tariff of ₹285,000 (~$3,193.05)/MW/month.

 

The winning projects will receive a viability gap funding of ₹1.8 million (~$20,166.61)/MWh. The winning companies will sign a power purchase agreement with RVUNL for 15 years.

Apart from setting up the BESS, the successful bidders must make the storage system available to RVUNL for on-demand charging/discharging. They must also provide the BESS’ interconnection with the state transmission utility network and the construction of the bay.

The selected bidders must charge and discharge the BESS and ensure a minimum monthly system operational availability of 95%. They must also make the BESS available for one operational cycle daily.

The tender is technology agnostic. However, only commercially established and operational technologies must be used to ensure minimum technology risk and achieve timely commissioning of the projects.

The successful bidders must guarantee a minimum AC-to-AC round-trip efficiency of 85% for the system on a monthly basis.

The projects’ full capacity must be commissioned within 18 months of the effective date of the battery energy storage purchase agreement.

In October this year, eleven companies won RVUNL’s auction to set up 1,000 MW/2,000 MWh BESS. The tariffs ranged from ₹177,500 (~$1,999.77)/MW/month to ₹178,500 (~$2,011.04)/MW/month.

India added 48.4 MWh of energy storage capacity in the first half (1H) of 2025, a 74% decline from 186 MWh added in the same period last year, according to the newly released India’s Energy Storage Landscape 1H 2025 Report by Mercom India Research.