Stakeholder Consultation on Hybrid PV–BESS Architectures: Coupling Choices

India’s growing reliance on solar power and battery energy storage is creating new questions about how these systems should be designed and integrated into the power grid. One important consideration is whether solar and battery systems should be connected through AC or DC coupling—a choice that can affect project costs, energy efficiency, flexibility, and the ability to support the grid.

CSTEP, in collaboration with the Centre for Mission on Energy Transition, MANIT Bhopal, is convening a stakeholder consultation to bring together utilities, renewable energy developers, grid experts, policymakers, industry, academia, and think tanks to examine these choices in the Indian context.

The discussion will explore the technical, economic, operational, and regulatory implications of AC- and DC-coupled systems, including their impact on curtailment, grid-support capabilities, project design, procurement, and overall system value. The consultation will also consider how planning and policy frameworks can better account for these different configurations as India moves towards higher shares of renewable energy and storage.

The insights from the consultation will contribute to techno-economic assessment and evidence-based recommendations for the future deployment of large-scale solar-plus-storage projects in India.