India's first Solar Village at Modhera in Gujarat has become the site of the country's first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) integrated with a solar power plant, the release said. The state government under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has pursued battery storage as a strategic priority and has now brought five battery storage systems online. The initiatives are presented as part of a broader effort to strengthen Gujarat's role in energy storage. The release linked the developments to national renewable targets. Following Modhera, the state has initiated systems at five locations with a combined capacity of 870 MW. Authorities have registered 13 projects across Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, Patan and Kutch to expand storage capacity. A battery storage installation was recently commissioned at Charal in Sanand taluka of Ahmedabad, while four systems are operational at Modhera in Mehsana and at Lakhpat in Kutch. The state framed these deployments as measures to meet peak demand and to reduce wastage from transmission losses. The state government has incorporated advanced energy storage into the Gujarat Integrated Renewable Energy Policy, 2025, enabling approvals for standalone battery projects, installations linked with new renewable energy capacity and systems integrated with existing renewable plants. Implementation is being routed through competitive bidding and sites are being identified by GETCO and distribution companies based on grid capacity and operational need. The release said that once the Standard Operating Procedure is finalised, registrations will open for commercial and industrial users to set up battery storage alongside solar or wind projects. These measures are intended to accelerate deployment while ensuring technical and commercial readiness. BESS assist by storing surplus electricity generated during daylight hours for supply during evening peaks, thereby reducing stress on the grid. Apart from managing temporal variation in renewable generation, the systems will support voltage and frequency regulation and provide emergency backup. The state expects these facilities to contribute to India's target of achieving 500 gigawatt (GW) of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 in line with the Prime Minister's vision.