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

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Amid surging power demand during the peak of summer in India, the country encountered difficulties in meeting evening energy requirements as air conditioners operated for extended periods due to elevated nighttime temperatures. Despite high levels of renewable energy generation, certain renewable energy providers were instructed to curtail their output owing to excessive clean electricity available on the grid.

In the past 15 months, India ceased nearly 11 terawatt-hours of solar generation, an amount of electricity sufficient to power approximately 10 million homes, according to official statistics and analysis from the environmental research firm Ember. This unutilized solar power came at a time when scorching heat and inadequate monsoon rainfall heightened the nation’s power demand for cooling and groundwater pumping for agriculture.

Although India is rapidly expanding its clean energy infrastructure, primarily through solar installations, it faces limitations in harnessing the full potential of this renewable energy due to inadequate transmission and storage infrastructure, as well as the complexity of transitioning between fossil fuel power and renewables.

Energy experts argue that this discord signals a significant hurdle for India's energy transition, emphasizing that merely constructing solar and wind farms is insufficient. India must develop a more flexible power system with expanded transmission lines to transport electricity nationwide, battery storage to reserve renewable energy until its utilization, and a system capable of swiftly adjusting to fluctuations in wind and solar output.

"We have reached a stage where some of the most significant challenges in renewables are becoming apparent," stated Neshwin Rodrigues, an energy analyst at Ember. Despite India boasting over 300 gigawatts of clean power capacity, which constitutes more than half of its total installed electricity capacity, coal remains the primary source of electricity generation.

Analysts attribute this predominance to curtailment, a situation where a wind or solar plant generates electricity but is mandated to lower or halt production as the grid cannot accommodate the additional power. Rodrigues highlighted that when solar generation peaks in the afternoon, it poses challenges for coal units to decrease their output.

This is primarily because these thermal power plants are relatively inflexible, unable to rapidly reduce output without compromising efficiency, elevating costs, or encountering operational complications. Vinay Pabba, CEO of Vibrant Energy, a renewable energy firm based in Hyderabad, expressed that curtailment incurs losses for developers of clean power.

He emphasized, "We only receive payment for the electricity we feed into the grid." The substantial concentration of renewable energy generation in Western India has resulted in transmission line congestion in that region. The Western states of Gujarat and Rajasthan account for nearly half of India's solar power capacity. Rodrigues elaborated, "When solar generation peaks, typically in the afternoon, there is limited capacity to distribute it."

The absence of sufficient storage infrastructure could lead to increased reliance on conventional fuels. "In the absence of adequate storage, India risks maintaining coal plants operational even when cost-effective renewable power is readily available," remarked Vibhuti Garg, the South Asia director at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Although constructing a solar or wind farm may take only two years, developing new power lines can require a minimum of three years, according to industry experts. Surveys conducted by Ember indicate that India has achieved only about 80% of its annual transmission development targets over the past five years. To reduce the pressure on congested transmission corridors and achieve a more evenly distributed electricity supply throughout the day, spreading renewable development across different parts of the country and incorporating additional wind and smaller-scale local solar projects is recommended, according to Disha Agarwal, an energy analyst based in New Delhi at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water.

Agarwal acknowledged that this challenge is expected to intensify as renewable capacity continues to grow. India has set a goal of achieving 500 gigawatts of clean electricity capacity by 2030 and intends for nearly 70% of its installed power capacity to derive from nonfossil sources by 2036. Batteries could potentially alleviate this issue.