India lost 300 million units of renewable energy in Q1 due to grid bottlenecks: Ember

India lost nearly 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable electricity in the January–March quarter of 2026 due to transmission constraints, highlighting mounting stress on the country’s grid infrastructure amid rapid clean energy expansion, according to a new analysis by energy think tank Ember.

The study found that total renewable energy curtailment touched around 470 GWh during the quarter, with transmission bottlenecks accounting for nearly two-thirds of the losses. The Northern region recorded the highest curtailed volume at 178 GWh, followed by the Western region at 122 GWh, while the Southern grid reported no such losses owing to relatively better coordination between renewable generation and transmission build-out.

Transmission targets lag renewable expansion

The report pointed to a widening mismatch between the pace of renewable energy deployment and transmission readiness. India has achieved only around 80% of its annual transmission targets over the last five years, while the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) target for FY27 has now risen sharply to 25,146 circuit kilometres.

According to the analysis, one in four major transmission schemes is already delayed by at least a year, potentially leading to connectivity delays exceeding four months for nearly 20 GW of renewable capacity during FY27.

“India’s renewable energy curtailment arising from transmission constraints is beginning to reach materially significant levels,” said Duttatreya Das, Energy Analyst - Asia at Ember.

On March 30 alone, India reportedly lost 34 GWh of clean electricity — equivalent to the daily power consumption of nearly five million urban middle-class households.

Battery storage seen as near-term solution

The report identified battery energy storage systems (BESS) as a practical short-term solution to ease transmission congestion. It estimated that 3–4 GW of two-hour battery storage could have absorbed most of the curtailed renewable power during the quarter.

“Battery storage at pooling stations is the fastest available fix to resolve transmission constraints. Roughly 3–4 GW of two-hour storage could have absorbed most of the curtailed generation,” Das said.

The think tank argued that India already has 236 GW of plug-and-play BESS headroom available at major pooling stations, but regulatory and commercial hurdles continue to limit deployment.

Regulatory reforms critical

Ember recommended introducing a government-backed intermediary to aggregate renewable power from projects operating under temporary grid access arrangements and contract it to battery storage developers. It also suggested treating battery storage as a transmission asset, allowing capacity payments to be shared across states similar to existing transmission charges.

“With the levelised cost of storage at INR 4–4.5 per kWh and solar at around INR 2.5 per kWh, the combined delivered cost remains below the INR 10 per kWh many states currently pay for peak power,” the report noted.

“Enabling such regulatory mechanisms could be among the fastest interventions for reducing transmission constraint-related renewable energy curtailment,” Das added.