India’s Solar Market Shifts Toward Storage and STU Corridors – Ashish Aggarwal, Head – Solar & Storage, BluPine Energy

How do you assess the current growth trajectory of the Indian utility-scale solar market in 2025, and which states are showing the highest potential?

India’s utility-scale solar market is growing, but the trajectory in 2025 is marked by both promise and friction. The core challenge today is the limited availability of PPAs. Across the industry, developers, including us, have already secured sizeable land banks and CTU connectivity, but the absence of timely offtake agreements is slowing commissioning and efficient capital deployment. Despite this, the underlying demand fundamentals, policy intent, and grid reforms remain strong, reinforcing confidence in long-term sector stability.

Within this landscape, Gujarat clearly stands out. Its consistent tendering cycle, transparent processes, and swift PPA execution have created one of the most dependable markets for utility-scale solar. This predictability allows developers to plan with precision and maintain commissioning momentum.

At BluPine Energy, we are closely aligned with this trajectory. We continue to prioritise states like Gujarat, where policy discipline supports timely execution, while also preparing for emerging opportunities in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and MP. Our strategy remains focused on disciplined development, strong state engagement, and building renewable assets that can move quickly from allocation to commissioning once PPAs unlock.

• What key market trends or policy developments do you see driving investment decisions for large-scale solar projects in India over the next 2–3 years?

Over the next 2–3 years, the biggest shift shaping investment decisions in India’s utility-scale solar space will be the move toward solar-plus-storage. It’s increasingly clear that utilities no longer prefer plain solar; rather, they want firm, dispatchable renewable power that can address evening peaks and reduce grid variability. This is pushing the market toward hybrid, RTC, and storage-integrated solutions, and developers who can adapt early will be best positioned to capture value.

We also expect project activity to gradually move from CTU to STU corridors. States are recognising the need for decentralised capacity addition, and STU-connected projects offer faster land mobilisation, shorter transmission buildout, and clearer visibility on offtake.

We are fully aligned with this transition. Our development pipeline is increasingly geared toward storage-integrated assets and STU-linked opportunities, ensuring we remain ahead of policy shifts and continue building projects that match the evolving expectations of utilities and regulators.

• Which technological innovations, such as bifacial modules, trackers, or energy storage integration, are creating competitive advantages for developers in the Indian market?

As I have highlighted earlier, storage is unquestionably the biggest differentiator for developers today. It is no longer just an add-on but a core requirement, especially as utilities shift toward firm and flexible renewable power. Developers who can design and optimise storage-integrated assets, both standalone and hybrid, will command a clear competitive edge in upcoming bids.

Alongside storage, trackers will also play an important peripheral yet meaningful role. For storage-linked or RTC projects, trackers consistently deliver higher generation and improved evening output compared to fixed-tilt systems, which directly enhances the overall value of delivered energy. Their contribution becomes particularly important when every additional unit during peak hours strengthens project economics.

We are also integrating these innovations into our development strategy. Our focus on storage-ready system design and selective deployment of trackers ensures that our assets are optimised for performance, flexibility, and long-term competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market.

• How are financing models evolving for utility-scale solar projects, and what role do corporate PPAs and green bonds play in shaping market growth?

Financing models for utility-scale solar are evolving quickly as the market moves toward more flexible and dispatchable renewable power. While long-term PPAs remain important, most FDRE and hybrid bids today are built on a blended revenue model where developers factor in a meaningful share of merchant sales, either through power exchanges or trader-led short-term contracts. This is becoming standard in bid assumptions, driven by strengthening market-linked price signals and the rising premium for evening and peak power.

Corporate PPAs and green bonds continue to support capital access, but the real shift is toward portfolios that combine contracted stability with merchant-led upside.

We are already aligning with this transition. For example, in our RTC and hybrid pipeline, certain project configurations assume partial merchant exposure during peak blocks, similar to what several SECI hybrid and peak-power tenders have enabled. By designing projects that can monetise both contracted and market-driven revenue streams, we are ensuring stronger bankability and long-term value creation.

• Which technological innovations, such as bifacial modules, trackers, or energy storage integration, are creating competitive advantages for developers in the Indian market?

The tender landscape is clearly evolving, and we see a gradual shift from CTU-linked projects toward STU-connected opportunities. As I mentioned earlier, the waiver of CTU charges has unintentionally created a distortion, making state-level development more economical in several large states. With lower transmission overheads and better visibility on offtake, STU corridors are becoming increasingly attractive for both discoms and developers.

This shift creates new opportunities for faster land readiness, quicker commissioning pathways, and stronger alignment with state-specific demand growth. But it also brings challenges around policy variability, payment discipline, and more intensive engagement with state utilities compared to SECI’s centralised model.

Over the past year, we have prioritised STU-linked sites in high-demand states, streamlined our state-level permitting processes, and strengthened our interface with multiple discoms. We have also advanced several STU-ready land parcels and evacuation studies so that once tenders come, we are positioned to move faster than the market. This early preparation is giving us a tangible competitive edge as the tendering landscape pivots toward state-driven procurement.

• How important is collaboration between developers, EPCs, and investors in scaling utility-scale solar deployment efficiently, and what lessons has Blupine Energy learned from recent projects?

Collaboration between developers, EPC partners, and investors is fundamental to scaling utility-scale solar efficiently. The success of any IPP depends on how well these stakeholders work together. Timely delivery, high-quality construction, and long-term asset performance are all direct outcomes of strong alignment across project design, procurement planning, execution strategy, and risk management. This becomes even more important as the industry moves toward hybrid and storage-integrated projects, where engineering complexity and coordination demands are significantly higher.

We have embedded this principle into our execution approach. We strengthened our partner evaluation processes, enhanced technical due diligence, and established tighter project-management interfaces with our EPC contractors. These improvements have resulted in smoother construction cycles, quicker issue resolution, and better on-ground accountability. This collaborative model is enabling us to build high-performing assets consistently while preparing our teams and partners for the next phase of more complex renewable projects.