ACMESOLAR Q2 FY27 Earnings Call: Raises 2030 Target to 15 GW, Revenue Jumps 67.5% YoY

ACMESOLAR held its Q2 FY27 earnings call on October 28, 2026. Here's a quick read of what management said — performance, strategy, and the outlook ahead.

Peak-Power BESS Drives Sharp YoY Growth

• Revenue of Rs.1,007 Cr in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — up 67.5% YoY; EBITDA up 63.6% YoY to Rs.874 Cr, driven primarily by short-term peak power BESS operations and renewable capacity.
• Blended EBITDA margin of 86.7% — 90.8% from renewable generation and 78.3% from BESS operations, where the power purchase cost for battery charging sits in opex.
• PAT up 133.5% YoY to Rs.269 Cr — a 26.7% PAT margin; asset base grew Rs.11,466 Cr over the year to Rs.28,462 Cr following BESS and RE project commissioning.
• Generation up 19.6% YoY to 1,840 million units — CUF improved to 27.8% from 24.1% YoY; the 150 MW wind fleet (absent from the FY 2025-2026 base) ran at ~41% CUF. Management indicated the growth curve will be less steep in Q3 FY 2026-2027.
• Other expenses of ~Rs.45 Cr in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — the elevated Q1 FY 2026-2027 level was driven by a one-time ROC fee of ~Rs.20 Cr across 7-8 SPVs (~Rs.2.5 Cr per SPV); excluding such items, other expenses are broadly static QoQ.

PPA Coverage at 92%; NTPC Deal Signed Pre-Call

• PPA-signed portfolio at 92% of 8,370 MW contracted — 430 MW of FDRE PPAs signed in Q2 FY 2026-2027, plus a further 400 MW FDRE PPA with NTPC signed on 27 October 2026, a day before the call.
• ~5.2 GWh of BESS commissioned till date — the second largest BESS capacity in India, meeting the 5 GWh half-yearly (H1 FY 2026-2027) target set on the previous call; 1.9 GW of contracted projects partially commissioned.
• 1.7 GW of modules delivered to site, 1.1 GW installed — of which 200 MW (peak) is already charged, with the balance expected to be charged by November–December FY 2026-2027.
• NTPC PPA tariff reduction quantified at ~33 paisa — per Joint MD & CEO Nikhil Dhingra's closing clarification, comprising 11 paisa from tentative change in law and 20-22 paisa voluntary reduction; management denied the analyst-cited 4.7 to 4.37 cut, attributing the change to GST reduced to 5% from 12% post-RFS (tentative estimate), with battery duration raised from 4 to 4.5 hours.
• SECI bid-to-PPA cycle has accelerated — SECI now floats bids only after fully tying up power with DISCOMs; ACME won a recent bid and signed the PPA within 2 months in FY 2026-2027.
• 8.5 GW of PPAs in hand as of Q2 FY 2026-2027 — participation in 3-4 GW of additional PPA bids is imminent (period unspecified).

Short-Term Contracting Locked Ahead; Tariffs Rising

• More than Rs.1,600 Cr of revenue locked in for partial sale of FY27 (FY 2026-2027) BESS capacity — and more than Rs.1,500 Cr for partial sale of FY28 (FY 2027-2028) capacity, with the balance to be tied up later; 324 million units sold via short-term peak power BESS contracts in Q2 FY 2026-2027.
• ~90-95% of FY27 produceable battery volume already contracted — with 5-10% retained for RTM (real-time market) sales; approximately 50-65% tied up for FY28 (FY 2027-2028), with management to confirm the exact figure.
• Newly won bids for Q4 FY 2026-2027 and Q1 FY 2027-2028 are "substantially higher" — than tariffs realized to date; Q3 FY 2026-2027 tariffs are already contracted, as ACME deliberately contracts only ~2 quarters ahead to reduce risk.
• IEX dependence persists — ACME has no power procurement tie-ups as of now and remains dependent on IEX prices for buying power; own solar at quite a few sites will be ready to charge co-located batteries by end of March (FY27 close) or possibly June (Q1 FY28), reducing IEX procurement substantially. Management did not confirm analyst-cited battery PPA tie-ups of Rs.15 billion / Rs.60 billion for FY27/FY28.
• Peak power PPA at ~Rs.6 tariff signed in Q2 FY 2026-2027 — management said returns remain high even after factoring only 6-12 months of short-term power operations, with around 24 months now expected (period unspecified); returns are competition-dependent.
• Management sees procurement shifting from RTC to BESS — BESS has built trust with an estimated 10-12 governments (supplied by ACME and peers); RTC at Rs.6-7 is more expensive than BESS at Rs.10 once unneeded daytime volume is counted, with ~85% of near-term power being RTC, described as "waiting to be disrupted."

GNA Delays Reshape Commissioning; Debt Costs Contained

• ~Rs.6,500 Cr of capex executed in FY 2026-2027 till date — Rs.3,500 Cr capitalized, Rs.3,000 Cr CWIP; management expects a similar or higher amount in H2 FY 2026-2027 and targets capitalizing the full 12 GWh of BESS within FY 2026-2027.
• FY27 full commissioning target of 1.5 GW — dependent on Fatehgarh 2 operationalization and GNA timelines; could shift by about a quarter (to around June); partial commissioning guided substantially higher at ~2.5-3 GW in FY27, with 2.5 GW already charged on an AC-commissioning basis.
• Upwards of 1.5-2 GW (MWp) of generation capacity expected online before March 2027 (FY 2026-2027) — Fatehgarh 2 (~700 MWp installed, awaiting GNA), Neemuch, Bikaner 3 and Anantapur, subject to GNA timelines.
• Weighted average cost of debt ~8.4% for fully operational projects — ~65% of borrowings from PFC, REC, IREDA and NAFIT/NaBFID; management does not foresee rate hikes on ~Rs.10,000 Cr of its Rs.15,000 Cr operational debt book (period unspecified).
• Interest costs flat over the past 2-3 quarters — aided by a ~Rs.2,800 Cr QIP partly used to pay down debt, BESS cash flows reducing drawdowns, and refinancing of a higher-interest bond; the book is now 100% rupee with no dollar exposure.
• Under-construction debt at 9%+ expected to move substantially sub-9% — once projects turn operational, driven by credit-risk reduction independent of the rate cycle (period unspecified); two projects are already being refinanced during construction.
• CRISIL upgraded the rating outlook to AA-/Positive from AA-/Stable — disclosed during the Q2 FY 2026-2027 call.

Government Actions Expand the Peak-Power TAM

• Union Cabinet approved Green Energy Corridor Phase 3 — Rs.1.36 lakh crore for interstate/intrastate transmission plus Rs.50,000 crore for 50 GWh of BESS, targeting evacuation of 135 GW of renewable energy; management expects this to open state-connected renewable project opportunities.
• Pradhan Mantri Surya Sarovar Yojana targets 5,000 MW of floating solar — with at least 2 hours of co-located storage and central financial assistance up to Rs.1 crore/MW after commissioning.
• CTIL has initiated grant of BESS connectivity under the non-Rofer route — which management said helps ACME build a large BESS pipeline at preferred high-GHI sites in Rajasthan; CTU/MOP have extended planned substation completion timelines to 30-36 months, a step management called a positive de-risking measure.
• ~85% of DEEP portal short/medium-term procurement volumes are thermal-based RTC tenders — versus 15% from gas/other sources as of Q2 FY 2026-2027; management said states buy RTC even when they need only peak power, and Gujarat's shift to large peak-power purchases in FY 2026-2027 has already cut its short/medium-term RTC buying.
• SECI launched a 16 GWh battery tender (4 GW × 4 hours) on 28 October 2026 — carrying VGF support (PGF funding of Rs.15 lakh per MWh) and a 12-month commissioning requirement, which management said is designed to promote battery installations sooner given the current power situation.
• States are contracting surplus peak power, many via 5-year PPAs — some exploring 20-year PPAs; states floating their own bids include Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, while West Bengal and other states are buying in the SECI bid.

Raised Targets: 15 GW / 50 GWh by 2030

• FY27 BESS commissioning guidance raised from 10 GWh to more than 12 GWh — driven by the early deployment strategy.
• By 2030, the renewable target rises from 10 GW with 25 GWh of BESS to 15 GW with 50 GWh of battery — doubling the storage component; management said connectivity in hand is "more than required" for 15 GW, with substations underpinning it having timelines of 2028 at the latest (possibly early 2029), and may even do ~17 GW with a higher BESS mix within the 2030 plan.
• If additional PPAs are signed by end-CY2027, management expects ~12 GW of capacity by 2029 — and full 15 GW of PPA tie-ups by end-CY2027 (end-Q3 FY 2027-2028), with execution running through 2029-30; the incremental 5 GW is expected to be won within 12-18 months of the call (through roughly Q1 FY 2028-2029).
• Management's presentation cites 50 GW of peak-power bids slated for rollout by September 2027 (FY 2027-2028) — plus 20+ GW of upcoming tenders (period unspecified) across solar+BESS, FDRE, CFD and PHSP; management assesses this as primarily backed by state demand, noting SECI has no demand of its own.
• 200-250 GWh of short-term peak power contracts expected in the near-to-medium term — with 20 GWh of medium-term peak-only tenders expected shortly (periods unspecified).
• FY28 (FY 2027-2028) GNA availability outlook of around 2.5-3 GW (upwards of 3 GW) — with the bulk of substations expected to come alive between June and December of FY 2027-2028; management is confident of no further delays.
• ALMM-II (DCR) module sourcing planned from June onwards of FY 2027-2028 — for Q2 FY 2026-2027 PPAs, with commissioning targeted December 2027 through March 2028 (Q3-Q4 FY 2027-2028); initial negotiations indicate DCR/ALMM-II compliant module prices below Rs.17 as of Q2 FY 2026-2027. Management flagged that recent Chinese regulations, if they impact cell capacity in India, would need to be monitored.