Resolving India’s grid bottlenecks

Institutional coordination and transparency is key to ensure that India is able to get the renewable energy it generates to its power grid

- SHRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN

FOR OVER A decade, India has pursued one of the world's most ambitious renewable energy transitions, rapidly scaling solar and wind capacity while investing heavily in national transmission corridors to carry green power from resource-rich states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Ladakh to major consumption centres.

This dual push reflects that the energy transition is equally about generating and evacuating clean power.

As India enters its next phase of renewable scale-up, a structural challenge is emerging at the intersection of infrastructure planning, grid operations, and investor confidence. In Rajasthan, one of India’s largest renewable energy hubs, more than 4,000 megawatts (MW) of fully commissioned solar capacity faces near-total curtailment during peak generation hours. These operational plants can produce electricity but are unable to inject power into the grid when generation is the highest.

At the heart of this issue lies General Network Access (GNA), which defines how much power the interstate transmission system commits to evacuate for a power generator. GNA exists in two forms - permanent and temporary. Permanent GNA is granted once designated transmission systems are completed, and such projects enjoy priority access. Until these systems are ready, projects operate under temporary GNA, using spare capacity after permanent commitments are met.