Santosh Sarangi, Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, confirmed that 42 gigawatts of solar projects currently lack offtakers. Projects without battery integration—totaling roughly 18 gigawatts—face the highest risk of abandonment as power distributors favor reliable supply over intermittent generation. An additional 15 gigawatts of projects, burdened by high initial price awards, further complicate the market landscape.
India’s Solar Ambitions Stall Under Grid Constraints
Solar developers across India are increasingly adding battery storage to their photovoltaic projects to secure buyers and mitigate the rampant curtailment of clean energy. With grid capacity lagging behind the rapid expansion of renewable installations, the industry faces a critical bottleneck that threatens to derail the country's energy transition.
The scale of the inefficiency is stark. During the peak heat of the April-to-June quarter, the national grid discarded 11% of generated solar output. According to Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, this resulted in 8 billion kilowatt-hours of wasted energy. Think tank Ember reports that transmission constraints accounted for nearly two-thirds of the 300 gigawatt-hours of renewable curtailment seen in the first quarter of the year. Analysts warn that without the immediate deployment of at least 10 gigawatt-hours of battery storage, the coal fleet’s inability to ramp down will continue to force the disconnection of clean energy, effectively capping the growth of India’s renewable sector.
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