India’s power demand is surging, but some solar energy is going to waste

India's power demand has been rapidly increasing, particularly during the hot summer months when air conditioners are running long hours to keep homes cool. Despite this surge in demand, the country has been confronted with a surplus of clean energy from solar farms. In the past 15 months, India had to curtail nearly 11 terawatt-hours of solar energy, enough electricity to power around 10 million homes, according to government records and analysis from energy research group Ember.

This excess clean energy was not utilized as it went unused due to the country's limited transmission and storage infrastructure, making it difficult to accommodate and distribute the renewable power effectively. The world's most populous nation and a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions is rapidly expanding its clean energy capacity, focusing on solar power.

However, the challenge lies in integrating this clean electricity into its grid system effectively. Experts argue that India's energy transition faces a significant hurdle. Building solar and wind farms is not sufficient; the country needs an extensive network of transmission lines to distribute electricity across the expansive country, batteries to store renewable power for later use, and a more adaptable power system that can swiftly adjust its output based on the changing availability of wind and solar energy.