ACME Solar signs 1.2GWh storage PPA with SECI under FDRE tender

ACME Solar has signed a power purchase agreement with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for 1.2GWh of battery storage, the company confirmed. The deal was struck through SECI's Firm and Dispatchable Renewable Energy, or FDRE, tender.

The agreement pairs storage capacity with a firm supply contract. Under the FDRE model, a developer commits to delivering power on demand rather than simply feeding whatever the sun or wind provides. Storage does the balancing.

SECI runs the tender. ACME Solar builds and operates the assets behind it.

The 1.2GWh figure is the headline number. It's a measure of energy capacity, not instantaneous power, so it tells you how much electricity the batteries can move over a full cycle rather than how fast they can discharge at any one moment. The PPA itself doesn't spell out the megawatt rating in the announcement.

Why FDRE matters for storage

India's renewable buildout has run ahead of its ability to move and firm up that power. Solar generates in the middle of the day. Demand peaks in the evening. Storage closes that gap, and FDRE tenders are SECI's way of paying developers to close it.

The structure shifts risk onto the developer. A firm supply contract means penalties if the power doesn't show up when it's called. That's a different business from a plain solar PPA, where the buyer absorbs the variability.

Battery storage in India has been slow to scale relative to generation. Tenders have been announced, but signed PPAs have lagged. Each executed contract adds a data point on pricing and bankability that the next round of developers can lean on.

ACME Solar is one of the country's larger independent renewable developers, with a portfolio spanning solar and hybrid projects. The company has been pushing into storage-linked contracts as the market shifts.

What the deal doesn't say

The announcement is thin on specifics. There's no disclosed tariff, no location for the storage assets, and no timeline for commissioning. Those details usually surface later, either in regulatory filings or in SECI's own disclosures.

Tariff matters. Storage-linked PPAs carry a premium over plain solar, and the level at which SECI signs sets a benchmark. Developers watching the FDRE pipeline will want that number.

Commissioning timelines matter too. Battery supply chains have been tight, and India's domestic cell manufacturing is still ramping. A developer that signs today is betting on equipment arriving on schedule.

The PPA is signed. The hard part, building 1.2GWh of storage and making it dispatchable on demand, comes next.