Renewable energy curtailment critical issue; India requires super grid like China: MNRE Secy

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Curtailment of renewable energy has emerged as a critical challenge for India’s clean energy transition, amid growing instances of solar power being backed down due to transmission constraints and excess daytime generation.

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry Annual Business Summit 2026, Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, said the issue needs to be addressed on a very urgent and priority basis, stressing that the grid’s ability to absorb the renewable energy being injected into the system is “extremely crucial.”

His remarks come at a time when the country is witnessing large-scale curtailment of solar power as the grid struggles to absorb excess supply during the daytime. In April, on average 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of solar power were curtailed every day — enough to serve one-fourth of Delhi for a day, The Indian Express has earlier reported.

According to Sarangi, India would eventually require a large-scale transmission network similar to the “super grid” model being developed by China.

Highlighting how China plans to invest around 574 billion dollars by 2030 in such infrastructure, he said India will also require a similar planning if it sticks to NITI Aayog’s projection of 1,800 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2050.

Solar Power Plant Telangana II. Source: Wikipedia