India’s government is preparing a new multibillion-dollar subsidy scheme for companies making electricity grid batteries, according to a proposal seen by the Financial Times, as authorities try to accelerate the large coal consumer’s transition to clean energy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set out an ambitious target to build 500 gigawatts of renewable capacity by the end of the decade as India — among the world’s fastest-growing energy consumers — tries to transition away from coal. The fossil fuel accounts for about three-quarters of the country’s power generation at present.
Batteries are essential for storing renewable energy because, unlike the regular power supply generated by coal plants, the availability of solar and wind fluctuates throughout the day.