BESS policy and portal to be launched soon, says Energy Minister Nirmal Kumar

Tamil Nadu Energy Minister R. Nirmal Kumar was speaking after inaugurating the Solar Association of India’s special interactive meeting on Tamil Nadu Rooftop Solar Subsidy Scheme and Exhibition in Chennai on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). | Photo credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Tamil Nadu Power Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar said on Wednesday (Oct 07, 2026) that the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) policy along with the portal will be launched soon.

Inaugurating a special interactive session of Solar Association of India on Tamil Nadu Solar Rooftop Program and Exhibition in Chennai, he said that the Department of Power Resources has finalized the BESS policy after discussions for three months. He said nearly 20,000 applications have been received since the launch of the Tamil Nadu Rooftop Solar Subsidy Scheme announced by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. 1,500 applications for the subsidy were processed. The scheme combines central and state government subsidy of ₹35,000 per 1 kilowatt (kW), ₹70,000 per 2kW and ₹1,00,000 per 3kW.

Pointing out that the total number of rooftop solar plants installed in Tamil Nadu in all these years was only one lakh, Mr. Nirmal Kumar said that the subsidy scheme had set a target of one lakh rooftop solar plants by the end of March next year.

PN Sridhar, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation Limited (TNGECL), said the state has a good mix of solar, wind and hydropower and distributed renewable energy has been promoted through the BESS policy. With around 400 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar installed in the state, the subsidy scheme would further boost the growth of rooftop solar power generation, he added.

P. Ashok Kumar, founder and former president of the Tamil Nadu Solar Energy Developers Association (TNSEDA), wanted the state to extend the six-month deadline for installing solar panels with non-domestic content requirements (DCR) against the central government’s directive to start installing only DCR solar panels from December this year.

A DCRless solar panel is a solar module that is either fully imported from abroad or assembled in India with imported solar cells.

TNSEDA President P. Shivakumar and former Krishnagiri MP C. Narasimhan spoke. The meet was organized by the Indian Solar Association in association with TNSEDA.

Published – 07 Oct 2026 18:57 IST