Archive · 5 Jan 2026
India's Renewable Energy Grid Bottlenecks and Solutions
India has been working hard to use more clean energy like solar and wind power.
They have built a lot of these power plants, especially in Rajasthan.
However, there's a problem: the power lines that carry this clean energy to people's homes aren't keeping up.
This means that some power plants can't send all their electricity to the grid, especially when the sun is shining the most.
This is happening because the power lines are busy sending electricity from other plants that have priority.
This is making it hard for new power plants to make money and is causing some problems for India's clean energy plans.
To fix this, India needs to make sure the power lines are ready at the same time as the new power plants and be more open about how they manage the electricity flow.
India has rapidly scaled up renewable energy capacity, particularly in Rajasthan, but faces grid bottlenecks causing curtailment of power.
General Network Access (GNA) defines how much power the grid can carry, with permanent GNA projects having priority over temporary ones.
Rajasthan has 23 GW of renewable capacity but only under 19 GW of usable evacuation capacity during peak solar hours.
The Khetri-Narela transmission line, expected to ease constraints, only added 500-600 MW of usable capacity.
Curtailment undermines project bankability, erodes investor confidence, and raises capital costs for future renewable investments.
- Who
- India's renewable energy sector, particularly in Rajasthan
- What
- Grid bottlenecks causing curtailment of renewable energy projects
- When
- Currently, with a focus on the recent commissioning of the Khetri-Narela transmission line
- Where
- Rajasthan, one of India's largest renewable energy hubs
- Why
- Due to mismatches in transmission infrastructure planning and renewable energy project commissioning, leading to insufficient grid capacity for temporary GNA projects
- Renewable Capacity in Rajasthan
- 23 GW
- Usable Evacuation Capacity
- Under 19 GW during peak solar hours
- Curtailment in Rajasthan
- 4,375 MW of GNA operationalised
- Khetri-Narela Transmission Line Capacity
- 500-600 MW incremental usable capacity
- Temporary GNA
- Shared proportionately, allowing partial evacuation of 40-50%