India’s record renewable power generation and solar output were overshadowed by curtailments in July and August when India experienced power availability shortages.
Over 4% of the solar power generated in July and August had to be curtailed because of grid and operational constraints, the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a report on Monday.
Solar power generation accounted for 58% of the increase in renewable electricity generation in the second quarter of India’s 2026/2027 fiscal year, making it the primary driver of renewable generation growth, CREA’s analysis showed.
“Solar remained the fastest-growing major source of electricity generation in Q2, increasing by 39% year-on-year, compared with 29% for wind and 26% for nuclear,” CREA said. Meanwhile, hydropower generation declined by 20%.
Solar output again reached a new daily record, with 705 million units (MU) generated on September 30, surpassing the previous record in Q1 FY2026-27.
“Despite record renewable generation, significant volumes of renewable electricity continued to be curtailed because of grid and operational constraints,” CREA’s analysts said.
In July and August, about 1.835 billion units (MU) of renewable energy generation, mostly solar, was curtailed, they noted.
Coal and lignite installations were at 231 GW as of August, or a 42% share of all power capacity, but renewable energy (excluding large hydro) grew the fastest, rising to 243 GW, or to a 44% share of India’s capacity, in August 2026. That’s up from 193 GW, or a 39% share, in August 2025, CREA’s analysis showed.
The solar curtailments came as India’s demand surged between July and September and coal plants were increasingly operating with critically low inventories. The number of plants with coal stocks below 25% of normative requirements rose sharply from 32 on August 22 to as many as 85 plants on October 1, according to CREA.
To address curtailments and a lack of flexibility in renewable energy sources, India plans to introduce, from July 2027 a regulation requiring developers of solar and wind energy projects to have battery storage installed at the sites.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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