Rajasthan's 2,450 MW Pugal Solar Park: India's Biggest Solar+BESS Tender of 2026

Key Takeaways

• Agency: Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company Limited (RSDCL), subsidiary of RRECL
• Solar capacity: 2,450 MW photovoltaic
• Energy storage: 1,600 MW / 6,400 MWh (4-hour BESS)
• Location: Pugal Solar Park, Bikaner district, Rajasthan
• Tender issued: January 9, 2026
• Bid deadline: March 9, 2026
• Financial bid opening: April 3, 2026
• E-reverse auction: April 10, 2026
• Letter of Award (LoA): Scheduled April 21, 2026
• Project completion: 24 months from PPA signing
• PPA duration: 25 years from scheduled commencement
• Power buyer: Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Limited (RUVITL)

What Is This Project?

India's largest-ever solar-plus-battery storage tender — 2,450 MW of solar power paired with 1,600 MW/6,400 MWh of Energy Storage System (ESS) — was floated by Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company Limited (RSDCL) in January 2026 at the Pugal Solar Park in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

This project, valued at approximately Rs 180 billion (Rs 18,000 crore), is a landmark for India's renewable energy sector on multiple dimensions:

• Largest single-site solar-plus-storage tender ever issued in India by capacity
• India's largest BESS procurement — 6,400 MWh of battery storage in a single project
• Rajasthan's most ambitious solar park development since Bhadla Solar Park
• First ultra-large solar+storage project in Bikaner, establishing a new renewable energy corridor in western Rajasthan

The project is being developed on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis through competitive bidding, with the selected developer(s) selling power to RUVITL (Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Limited) under a 25-year PPA.

Project Location: Pugal Solar Park, Bikaner

Pugal Solar Park is located in Bikaner district of Rajasthan — a region with exceptional solar resource quality. Key location advantages:

Solar resource: Bikaner district receives among the highest Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) in India — approximately 5.8–6.2 kWh/m2/day, making it ideal for large-scale solar development with maximum energy yield.

Land availability: Pugal is situated in the Thar Desert zone where vast tracts of government wasteland are available for solar park development. RSDCL has allocated land specifically for this 2,450 MW project, eliminating the land acquisition risk that challenges private developers elsewhere.

Transmission infrastructure: The project will connect to the State Transmission Utility (STU) network. Bikaner has been identified as a key transmission zone in Rajasthan's renewable energy grid expansion, with green energy corridors specifically designed to evacuate western Rajasthan's solar generation.

The Pugal Solar Park adds to Bikaner's growing role as a renewable energy hub — the district already hosts multiple operating wind farms and solar projects, and its transmission infrastructure has been progressively upgraded to handle large-scale generation.

Project Structure

RSDCL structured this as a global tariff-based competitive bidding with the following key features:

Bidding Process

• Method: Single-stage, two-envelope system (technical + financial bids) followed by e-reverse auction
• Scope: Bidders compete on tariff — the developer offering the lowest tariff for power supplied from the 2,450 MW solar + 1,600 MW/6,400 MWh ESS project wins

Financial Requirements

For a developer bidding the full 2,450 MW, the EMD works out to approximately Rs 338.6 crore — a substantial commitment that limits participation to the largest and most well-capitalised renewable energy developers in India.

Key Timeline (Completed)

The Energy Storage Component: 1,600 MW / 6,400 MWh

The integrated 6,400 MWh energy storage system is the most significant aspect of this project from a grid management perspective.

At 1,600 MW of power capacity and 6,400 MWh of energy storage (4-hour duration), the ESS will be capable of:

• Absorbing 6,400 MWh of excess afternoon solar generation during peak sunshine hours
• Dispatching up to 1,600 MW for 4 hours during evening peak demand (6–10 PM)
• Effectively extending the solar generation day from ~12 hours (solar-only) to up to 16 hours (solar + 4-hour storage)

For context, India's total BESS capacity was approximately 6–8 GWh at the start of FY2026. A single 6,400 MWh project at Pugal would effectively double India's utility-scale storage fleet.

The storage system enables RUVITL (and the Rajasthan state grid) to commit to firm power supply from this park — a major step beyond intermittent solar generation, and essential for Rajasthan to reliably export its vast solar resource to power-deficit northern states via green energy corridors.

Strategic Importance for Rajasthan and India's Grid

Rajasthan was responsible for 12,140 MW (35%) of India's large-scale solar additions in FY2026 — more than any other state. The Pugal project accelerates this trajectory and addresses a critical challenge: how to convert Rajasthan's abundant solar generation into firm, dispatchable power.

For India's 500 GW renewable target: Projects like Pugal — combining multi-GW solar with GWh-scale storage — are essential to achieving India's target of 500 GW renewable energy capacity by 2030 while maintaining grid reliability and meeting peak demand requirements.

For RUVITL and Rajasthan DISCOMs: The 25-year PPA at a competitively discovered tariff locks in long-term clean energy supply for Rajasthan consumers. Given that solar-plus-storage tariffs have been falling rapidly (from Rs 4–5/kWh in 2022 to Rs 3.12–3.13/kWh in SECI Tranche XXI), the tariff discovered at Pugal through a reverse auction in April 2026 is likely to be among the most competitive large-scale solar+storage procurement prices in India's history.

For India's BESS industry: The 6,400 MWh Pugal project, alongside NTPC REL's 960 MWh Devikot tender and multiple other BESS procurements in 2026, signals the arrival of India as a major market for grid-scale battery storage. This is driving investment in domestic battery manufacturing, with the PLI scheme supporting cell manufacturing and multiple international battery suppliers (BYD, CATL, Samsung SDI) scaling their India operations.

What This Means for Industrial Solar Buyers

For industrial and commercial solar buyers across India, the Pugal Solar Park tender signals several important market trends:

Solar+storage at competitive tariffs: A 2,450 MW project bid through reverse auction in India's most competitive solar market will likely discover tariffs in the Rs 3.0–3.5/kWh range for the combined solar+storage supply. This benchmarks behind-the-meter solar+storage for industrial users — where captive systems at this scale can be competitive at Rs 4–5/kWh all-in.

Policy commitment to large-scale solar: Rajasthan's willingness to commit to a single Rs 18,000 crore solar+BESS project reflects state government confidence in renewable energy procurement. This policy certainty benefits private industrial buyers in Rajasthan who are planning their own solar investments.

EPC ecosystem: A project of this scale requires major EPC contractors, module suppliers, and BESS system integrators operating in Rajasthan. The Pugal project will deepen Rajasthan's renewable energy supply chain — reducing costs and improving delivery timelines for smaller industrial captive projects in the state.

For industrial buyers in Rajasthan and the Delhi-NCR region planning solar investments, the RRECL 201 MW VNM tender (Phase 1 of a 500 MW programme) and the broader RRECL pipeline represent the most directly relevant procurement opportunities. See our guide on industrial solar installation in Rajasthan for a comprehensive overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 2,450 MW Pugal project really India's biggest solar+BESS tender?

Yes — as of early 2026, the 2,450 MW solar paired with 1,600 MW/6,400 MWh of BESS is the largest single-project solar+storage tender ever issued in India by both solar capacity and storage capacity. It surpasses previous landmark tenders like SECI's 2 GW Tranche XX (2 GW solar + 1 GW/4 GWh storage) in both dimensions.

Who is RSDCL and how does it relate to RRECL?

Rajasthan Solar Park Development Company Limited (RSDCL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created by RRECL (Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Limited) specifically for solar park development. RSDCL is the tender-issuing authority, while RRECL is the parent state renewable energy agency. RUVITL (Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services Limited) is the designated power buyer under the 25-year PPA.

What is the project completion timeline?

The project must be commissioned within 24 months of PPA signing. With PPA signing targeted by May 21, 2026, commissioning is expected by approximately May 2028.

What tariff is expected from this auction?

The actual tariff will be discovered through the e-reverse auction process. Based on comparable solar+storage auctions in India — SECI Tranche XXI (Rs 3.12–3.13/kWh for solar+6hr storage, January 2026), SECI FDRE Tranche VII (similar range) — the Pugal tariff is expected to be in the Rs 2.8–3.2/kWh range for solar+4hr storage, reflecting Rajasthan's superior solar resource. The actual tariff was being determined through the April 2026 reverse auction process.

What is the EMD for this tender?

Rs 13.82 lakh per MW of bid capacity. For the full 2,450 MW, this amounts to approximately Rs 338.6 crore — making participation limited to India's largest renewable energy developers.

Sources

• Rajasthan Launches 2,450 MW Solar Project With 1,600 MW/6,400 MWh Energy Storage At Pugal Solar Park — SolarQuarter (January 12, 2026)
• Rajasthan Tenders 2.45 GW Solar Power Projects with Battery Storage at Pugal Solar Park — PV Magazine India (January 12, 2026)
• Rajasthan Invites Bids 2.45 GW Solar Plus 1.6 GW/6.4 GWh BESS — Mercom India
• Rajasthan Issues India's Biggest Ever 2.45 GW/6.4 GWh Solar-Plus-BESS Tender at Pugal — Saurenergy
• Transmission System for 2,450 MW Solar Park at Pugal, Bikaner — Global Transmission Report