India's renewable energy auctions are moving away from plain solar towards projects that can deliver power when the grid needs it. Government agencies issued tenders for 21 GW of renewable capacity in the third quarter of 2026 and auctioned 12 GW, according to Mercom India's latest procurement and demand report.
Storage and hybrid take the lead
Battery energy storage and hybrid projects together made up 45.2% of the capacity auctioned in the quarter. Wind led individual segments with 3.2 GW, followed by battery storage with 2.8 GW, hybrid projects with 2.5 GW and manufacturing with 1.9 GW. Large-scale solar accounted for only 1.2 GW, and rooftop solar for 51.2 MW.
Mercom links the shift to buyers' growing focus on flexible supply and on when power is delivered, rather than only on how much is generated.
The picture after nine months
Over the first nine months of 2026, agencies issued about 66 GW of tenders and auctioned 28 GW. Energy storage was the largest segment by tendered capacity, with 40% of the total, while wind took 22% of auctioned capacity, second only to hybrid projects.
Large-scale solar saw about 14 GW tendered and 4 GW auctioned over the period. Rooftop solar had 2 GW tendered and nearly 1 GW auctioned, while manufacturing had 5 GW tendered and 2 GW auctioned. Green hydrogen saw only limited tendering and a single auction.
In the first half of the year, agencies had tendered 44.1 GW and auctioned 16.3 GW, so the third quarter alone added roughly a third of the year's tendering so far.
Why tenders are not turning into auctions
The gap between tendered and auctioned capacity remains wide. For solar, Mercom points to transmission availability, land, tariff expectations, bid conditions and buyer commitments as the factors that decide how quickly tendered capacity is converted. Most rooftop programmes, in Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Tripura, were still waiting for auctions at the end of September, and a substantial share of newly issued capacity was pending.
"The volume of tenders tells only part of the story," said Raj Prabhu, CEO of Mercom Capital Group. He added that "the rate at which projects move forward will be an important measure of actual renewable energy demand" in the coming quarters.
A market built for evening demand
The trend reflects a structural change in India's power market. As solar capacity grows, midday supply is plentiful, and the value lies in storing that power or combining solar with wind to cover the evening peak. Storage-linked and hybrid tenders give buyers firmer supply and reduce the risk of curtailment, while developers face more complex projects and new technical requirements.
What it means for Asia-Pacific markets
India's auctions are a leading indicator for the region: procurement is moving from cheapest energy to most useful energy. For developers and suppliers, the opportunity is shifting towards battery storage, hybrid design and grid integration skills, while plain solar tenders face tougher competition for scarce transmission capacity. Mercom's data also shows that tender headlines can overstate real demand, so the pace of auctions and signed contracts is the better measure to watch.
Source: Mercom India, Q3 and 9M 2026 India Renewable Energy Procurement and Demand Report.
