Jaipur, Nov. 14 -- Rajasthan has added 29 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity in the past 34 months, taking its total installed renewable energy capacity to 52.13 GW, energy minister Heera Lal Nagar said on Friday, highlighting the state's growing role as a major contributor to India's clean energy transition. Addressing reporters, Nagar said Rajasthan now accounts for nearly 17% of India's total installed renewable energy capacity of 304 GW and has emerged as the country's leading state in solar energy, with an installed capacity of 46 GW, accounting for around 26% of the national total. He said the rapid expansion of solar power had also created a daytime electricity surplus, allowing the state to sell surplus electricity worth approximately Rs.2,000 crore in the current year. The government is, however, working to address the challenge of meeting demand during morning and evening peak hours when solar generation is unavailable. "Battery energy storage projects are being developed to ensure that surplus solar power generated during the day can be utilised during peak demand hours," Nagar said. The state is developing a major integrated solar park at Pugal in Bikaner, which will have 2,450 MW of solar generation capacity and a 6,400 MWh battery energy storage system. Four developers have been selected through competitive bidding, with the lowest tariff quoted at Rs.3.42 per unit. The government is also developing another project at Pugal with 3,310 MW of solar capacity and 10 GWh of battery storage. The state generation corporation is separately working on establishing 6,000 MWh of battery storage capacity....