Telangana’s solar market is gradually shifting toward solar-plus-storage solutions, with buyers increasingly prioritizing quality, warranties, after-sales service, and long-term reliability over upfront costs.

As of the first half of 2026, Telangana has approximately 22.2 GW of installed power capacity, with renewables accounting for 34.3%. Solar accounts for approximately 4.7 GW, including 3.9 GW of large-scale capacity. However, solar open access additions remained subdued at just 1.2 MW during the second quarter of 2026.

The state’s energy storage market is growing gradually, with a pipeline of around 2.5 GWh of standalone storage projects. Of this, about 1.5 GWh comes from Telangana Power Generation Corporation’s battery energy storage system auction, while the remaining capacity is largely from pumped storage projects.

Market Shifts to Storage

Consumers who are not ready to invest in battery storage can install hybrid inverters and add batteries later as their requirements evolve.

Industry executives said hybrid inverter adoption has increased significantly in India.

Bharat Singh TN, Director, Sales and Marketing at Ningbo Deye New Energy, said that the inverter sales mix has shifted from approximately 95% string and 5% hybrid three years ago to 80% and 20%, respectively. He expects the mix to reach 70:30 this year.

He said buyers are also looking beyond equipment prices and increasingly considering installation quality and after-sales support.

Residential consumers currently account for most of Ningbo Deye’s battery sales. C&I consumers remain cautious about costs, but Singh expects demand from the segment to increase, particularly as businesses seek reliable and cleaner power supply.

Industry executives said that data centers could also emerge as a significant source of storage demand.

Ningbo Deye New Energy offers battery storage solutions for commercial and industrial applications, starting from 60 kWh up to 250 kWh, which can be scaled up to 2.5 MWh.

Deye is also considering establishing manufacturing operations in India from 2027 or 2028 and is evaluating an Indian partner for this transition.

Emerging Technologies

Industry executives expect sodium-ion batteries to emerge as an alternative to lithium-ion technology over the next few years, with their initial adoption likely to be concentrated in utility-scale applications.

They added that sodium is far more abundant than lithium, and costs will also fall once sodium-ion batteries become commercially available.

Singh said microinverter demand has also risen sharply, which has also helped bring microinverter prices down relative to string inverters. The shift has happened within a span of six months.

Quality of Mounting Structures

T. Ramesh Babu, EVP Sales and Marketing at Metalkraft, said mounting structure buyers are also paying greater attention to quality and specifications as the industry matures.

He said mounting structure selection must account for project-specific factors such as topography, soil conditions, geographical location, corrosion levels, and wind speeds to ensure structures can withstand the expected 25-year project life.

Babu highlighted four coating options used for solar structures: galvalume, zinc-aluminum-magnesium (ZAM), galvanized/pure-zinc coating, and hot-dip galvanizing.

He added that ZAM-coated materials are increasingly being considered as an alternative to hot-dip galvanized steel for certain applications in low-corrosion regions such as Telangana. Higher-corrosion environments require heavier protective coatings, including higher-GSM ZAM or thicker hot-dip galvanizing, depending on site conditions.

Babu noted that ZAM material, at the same two-millimeter thickness, is approximately ₹10 (~$0.104)/kg cheaper.

However, material specifications alone do not determine the durability of a mounting system. Installation practices, including proper fastening, torque, alignment, and connection detailing, become particularly important in areas exposed to high winds.

These discussions took place at Mercom India’s RE Buyer Seller Event in Hyderabad recently.

Mercom India hosts the Buyer Seller Events to give solar installers and distributor communities a platform to engage directly with carefully selected vendors offering localized, high-quality solar solutions. The next event will be held on October 8, 2026, in Lucknow. You can register for the event here.