Why tapped solar electricity is going down the drain in India
India is now generating so much solar electricity that it is increasingly being forced to throw part of it away. That's because its storage capacity
India is now generating so much solar electricity that it is increasingly being forced to throw part of it away. That's because its storage capacity has failed to match steps with the generation capacity. Every day, enough clean power to supply more than a quarter of Delhi's electricity demand is going down the drain because the country's grid lacks sufficient battery storage and flexibility to save the afternoon's solar surplus for the evening, when demand peaks. Read Full Story The paradox is a consequence of India's remarkable solar expansion. Solar power's share of the country's installed electricity capacity has risen from just 2% in 2015-16 to nearly 29% by May 2026, helping meet rapidly growing daytime electricity demand while reducing reliance on coal. But that success has exposed a new weakness in India's energy transition. As the world's third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide and the fifth-largest economy, India has rapidly expanded renewable energy to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. It is now producing clean electricity faster than it can store and use it. The result is showing. On July 6, for a brief period, half of India's power demand was met by renewable sources. "India's clean power just hit a new record. At 11:46 AM on 6 July 2026, more than half of India's electricity came from clean energy sources, even as system demand hit 221 GW. Although a brief peak, this is a strong signal of where India’s grid is headed," said Amitabh Kant, former Niti Aayog CEO, in a post on X on July 7. However, India should now look at utilising all the power from renewable sources that it is tapping. For that, storage capacity expansion and grid management is required. According to a working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), authored by EAC-PM member Sanjeev Sanyal and IRS officer Satvik Dev, India routinely curtails enough solar electricity to power a major city — not because demand is lacking, but because there is nowhere to store the excess when it is generated. The paper argues that India's electricity challenge has fundamentally shifted. The question is no longer whether the country can generate enough power, but whether it can make solar electricity available when consumers actually need it.
Image Credit: Amitabh Kant/X WHY THE TIMING MISMATCH OF SOLAR, COAL AND HYDRO POWER GENERATION IS COSTING INDIA Based on the electricity data recorded every 15 minutes, the EAC-PM paper finds that India's power grid is developing what is known as the "duck curve". This means, during the day, abundant solar power meets much of the country's electricity demand. But after sunset, when solar panels stop generating, demand remains high, forcing conventional power plants to quickly make up the shortfall. During daylight hours, solar generation floods the grid. Since solar enjoys "first-run" or "must-run" status under India's Electricity Rules, 2021, it is dispatched before coal and gas plants. As solar output rises through the morning, conventional generators are forced to rapidly cut production. By late afternoon, however, solar generation begins disappearing precisely when household electricity demand begins rising. Coal, hydro and gas plants then have to step up to generate energy at extraordinary speed to meet the evening demand. INDIA HAS MORE SOLAR ENERGY, STILL INCREASE IN CONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF POWER The EAC-PM paper notes that this transition between solar, coal and hydropower has become dramatically steeper over the past three years. Comparing average summer days in May 2023, 2025, and 2026, the morning ramp-down of conventional power generation through coal, oil, and natural gas almost tripled, from about 18 gigawatts (GW) in May 2023 to nearly 53 GW in May 2026, even as solar flooded the system. One gigawatt equals one billion watts. One gigawatt of electricity is enough to power a crore (10 million) 100-watt bulbs. The evening ramp-up almost doubled, climbing from around 36 GW (May 2023) to nearly 74 GW (May 2026). According to the paper, every passing year, conventional generators are being asked to swing faster between oversupply and shortage. This is happening despite India having more solar generation than ever before. THE RISING SOLAR ENERGY, LACK OF STORAGE IS FORCING THE GRID TO WASTE ENERGY The EAC-PM paper estimates that during May 2026 alone, India curtailed around 747 GWh of solar generation. On an average day, about 24 GWh of solar electricity had to be switched off or wasted, either because the grid could not absorb it or through ancillary market mechanisms designed to maintain system stability.
The BriefWire