Union Budget 2026: Steering India’s Clean Energy Transition Toward Reliability
As India prepares forUnion Budget 2026, voices from the renewable energy sector emphasize a key message: clean power must bereliable, not just renewable. Industry leaders highlight that the next phase of India’s energy transition will hinge onstorage, hybrid projects, and strong domestic manufacturing.
After years of rapid solar and wind capacity expansion, the focus is shifting towardround-the-clock clean powerthat supports the grid and meets actual demand from industries and businesses.
Sunil Rathi, Executive Director of Waaree Energies, stresses that the upcoming Budget is a chance to makeenergy storage as central as power generation. He advocates policy support on three fronts:
Vertically integrated domestic manufacturingfor solar modules, batteries, and energy management systems to strengthen supply chains and reduce import dependence.
Flexible viability frameworksto encourage large-scale storage deployment, particularly in hybrid and solar-storage projects.
Domestic value additionto create skilled jobs and enhance the global competitiveness of Indian manufacturers.
Rathi notes, “When solar and storage scale together, India’s clean energy journey moves from capacity creation to system leadership.” With the right policies, India could emerge as aglobal hub for clean energy technology.
Siddharth Bhatia, Managing Director of Oyster Renewables, says the renewable sector has entered anew phase. “2025 marked a shift from merely adding capacity to deliveringreliable clean power,” he explains.
Hybrid assets backed by storage are critical for improving grid stability and making renewable energy more dependable. According to Bhatia, “Competitiveness will now be defined not by megawatts installed but bymegawatts delivered when customers need them.” Storage-linked hybrid projects enable higher utilisation, cleaner baseload power, and electricity at commercially attractive tariffs.
Industry leaders are calling forpolicy measures that improve certainty and bankabilityfor hybrid and round-the-clock power models. Key expectations include:
Incentives for storage-linked procurement
Simplified open-access rules
Better access to affordable domestic capital
Such measures are expected to accelerate adoption among industrial consumers, who increasingly demandreliable and cleaner power.
“With aligned policy signals, India can lead not just in installed renewable capacity but indispatchable, reliable clean energy,” Bhatia adds. As Budget 2026 approaches, the sector is hopeful thatstorage, hybrid projects, and domestic manufacturingwill receive the attention needed to power India’s clean energy future with confidence.
