Solar park in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh | Photo Credit: SUBRAMANYAM U

In what could trigger a new trend in the renewable energy industry, solar power developers in Andhra Pradesh may be asked to add battery energy storage systems (BESS) to ensure that a solar park’s generation capacity is no longer constrained by its power evacuation capacity. By co-locating BESS, storing solar energy generated during the day and transmitting it during non-solar hours, more solar capacity can be accommodated within a given park, while also improving utilisation of transmission infrastructure.

Andhra Pradesh hosts two major solar parks — the Kurnool park has at least five blocks, while the one in Ananthapuram has two blocks.

Recently, the National Committee on Transmission (NCT) discussed, among other issues, the transmission infrastructure for these parks. Even as the committee recommended taking up a ₹7,627-crore project for evacuation of renewable energy from Kurnool-V, it also “directed” the Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd (CTUIL) — the government body responsible for planning and coordinating transmission infrastructure — “to take up with applicants requesting connectivity at Kurnool-V for shifting to Kurnool-III or Kurnool-IV with BESS for non-solar hours”.

Similarly, CTUIL has been asked to offer applicants seeking connectivity at Ananthapuram-III — which is a pooling station rather than a block within the solar park — the option of shifting to Ananthapuram-I and Ananthapuram-II, with co-located BESS.

The NCT’s recommendation aligns with an observation made by the Ministry of Power, the committee’s parent body, in September that “to ensure optimum utilisation of the transmission lines, RE power from Kurnool-V REZ Phase-I (4.5 GW) and from Ananthapuram-III REZ Phase-I (4.5 GW) can be evacuated through the already identified transmission system in the Kurnool area and in the Ananthapuram area, respectively, during non-solar hours with implementation of co-located BESS”.

A shift from pure solar projects to solar-BESS configurations will have cost implications, and therefore an impact on tariffs. However, it could also expedite project execution, as developers need not wait for new evacuation infrastructure to be built specifically for Kurnool-V.

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Published on January 5, 2026