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Renewables Curtailment a Growing Structural Snag For Indian Grid as Solar Steps Up To Meet Record Demand, Says IEEFA

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India successfully met a record 256 gigawatts of peak power demand on April 25 with solar providing more than 20% of this, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said in a Friday research note.

The milestone, driven by early and intense heatwaves, saw cities like Delhi reaching demand levels usually only seen around mid-June.

While the system performed without major shortages, the day's data highlighted a growing structural imbalance.

The grid is becoming increasingly oversupplied during the day yet remains under strain during evening peaks.

Despite managing to meet the recent record demand peak, IEEFA highlighted that 2.3 terawatt-hours of clean energy was curtailed in 2025, underscoring an urgent need for 92 GWh of battery storage to bridge a widening evening supply gap, it said.

Renewables played a pivotal role in meeting the peak demand, contributing nearly one-third of the total supply.

However, because solar generation fades just as evening cooling demand intensifies, the grid was forced to rely on thermal power for the majority of the load, with coal and gas meeting roughly 69% of the peak demand, the analysts noted.

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