The scale of the disruption involved 96.9 GW of solar and 21.7 GW of wind capacity, representing 1.28% of total renewable generation for the month. Analysts attribute the surge in wasted energy to demand-generation mismatches and a lack of battery storage. The problem has intensified rapidly; between May and August, curtailment levels quadrupled compared to the previous year as 44.6 GW of new solar capacity flooded a grid already struggling with transmission limits.
India’s Grid Limitations Force Massive Renewable Energy Curtailment
Grid instability and transmission bottlenecks forced India to curtail 118.6 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity in September. This massive waste, documented by JMK Research & Analytics, highlights a widening gap between the country’s aggressive renewable energy expansion and the infrastructure required to manage intermittent power flows effectively.
This infrastructure deficit creates a paradox where renewable energy is discarded even as the nation faces power availability shortages. A report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air noted that over 4% of solar power was curtailed during July and August, a period marked by high electricity demand and critically low coal inventories. To mitigate these systemic failures, the government plans to mandate on-site battery storage for all new solar and wind projects starting in July 2027.
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