Environment
India curtails 4.2% of solar output in July-August
The Hindu BusinessLine··1d ago
India turned away nearly 1.8 billion units of renewable electricity in July and August, CREA data showed. About 4.2 percent of total solar generation could not be absorbed by the grid in those months. Peak power demand touched 270 GW in July while coal inventories at stations fell sharply. Solar capacity is about 168 GW, nearly a third of power.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Grid constraints can leave solar plants idle even when peak demand and coal stocks are tight.
- Households still face shortage risk when renewable output is curtailed for transmission limits.
- Nearly half of coal plants had stocks under four days of requirement early this month, CREA said.
What's Happening
- CREA analysts said significant renewable volumes were curtailed because of grid and operational constraints.
- Government data cited in the piece said India held back 14 percent of solar output between April and June.
- Solar generation jumped 39 percent from a year earlier in the quarter ended September.
The Grid Behind The Curtailment
- India is the world's third-biggest solar power generator, the report noted.
- Non-fossil sources now account for more than half of installed power capacity after rapid additions.
- Coal still supplied about two-thirds of electricity in the quarter despite record renewable generation.
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