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India’s renewable energy sector has expanded rapidly over the past decade, but much of the electricity generated is being wasted because transmission infrastructure has failed to keep pace, according to the BBC.
On a hot July afternoon, electricity from solar, wind, hydro and nuclear sources briefly met more than half of India’s peak power demand. It was only the second time the milestone had been reached, following a similar occurrence a year earlier.
Coal-fired power plants still generate about 70% of India’s electricity on average because they operate for longer periods than solar and wind facilities. However, renewable energy has moved from a marginal role to a central position in the country’s power system.
Renewable capacity reaches 300GW
India’s installed renewable energy capacity stood at barely 4GW a decade ago. It has now risen to 300GW, representing 54% of the country’s total installed power capacity of 552GW. The target was achieved five years ahead of schedule.
“It showed that renewable energy is no longer a marginal source sitting at the edge of the power system,” Sumant Sinha, chief executive of “ReNew Power”, told the BBC.
Despite the expansion, transmission capacity remains a major obstacle. Renewable generation projects have been developed faster than the power lines needed to carry electricity to consumers.
According to global energy think tank Ember, transmission constraints accounted for nearly two-thirds of renewable energy curtailment in the first quarter of 2026, amounting to 300 gigawatt-hours.
Transmission delays lead to wasted power
One in four inter-state transmission projects is facing delays of more than a year, according to the report. The problem is particularly acute in Gujarat and Rajasthan, in north-western India, where renewable projects are heavily concentrated.
“Generation projects can be constructed in 18-24 months,” Sinha said. Transmission projects can take longer because they require land acquisition, right-of-way arrangements, approvals and coordination among multiple agencies.
Vibhuti Garg of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis attributed the difficulties to poor planning. India’s grid was able to absorb new capacity when annual additions stood at 10-15GW, but new capacity reached a record 51GW last year.
Ember analysts have described the widening gap between generation and transmission as the most critical operational risk to India’s target of 500GW of non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030.
Storage and financing remain challenges
Battery storage at renewable energy pooling stations could help reduce losses by allowing electricity generated during the day to be used in the evening. However, storage expansion has been held back by higher battery prices, shortages of raw materials linked to the war in the Middle East and the depreciation of the Indian currency, which has increased financing costs.
“Many storage projects that were meant to come up fell through as a result,” Garg said.
Financing is a broader challenge for India’s clean energy industry. The country is estimated to need between $400 billion and $500 billion to meet its 500GW renewables target by 2030. Yet about 83% of its climate-mitigation financing currently comes from domestic sources, according to the government’s economic survey.
Sinha said India needed cheaper loans, guarantees and protection against currency losses to attract more private investment. Emerging and developing economies outside China receive only about 15% of global clean-energy investment, despite representing roughly two-thirds of the world’s population, he said.
India is the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter, while its electricity demand is growing by more than 7% annually. The International Energy Agency expects demand to rise by 80% by 2035, driven in part by sectors such as data centres and chip manufacturing.
Experts say closing the gaps in transmission, storage and financing will be essential to India’s energy transition and could significantly influence global efforts to meet climate targets.
