Developing a roadmap to a flexible, low‐carbon Indian electricity system

This executive summary from Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) outlines a roadmap for increasing electricity system flexibility in India to support the deployment of renewable energy and reduce overall system costs. The report argues that flexibility needs are growing faster than energy demand and that a balanced portfolio of demand-side flexibility, powerplant upgrades, and energy storage can reduce system costs by 5% to 8% and carbon emissions by 8% to 12% by 2030.

• Electricity system flexibility needs in India are increasing at a rate that exceeds the growth of energy demand. Under a high renewable energy scenario, several categories of flexibility needs are projected to grow two to three times faster than electricity demand.
• A lack of additional flexibility resources could soon hinder the growth of the energy system and jeopardize India's progress in improving power quality and reducing involuntary load shedding.
• India possesses sufficient potential flexibility options to meet future needs, with a total available capacity for daily balancing of nearly 2,000GWh/day, which exceeds the projected high renewable energy case requirement of approximately 870GWh/day.
• Implementing a balanced portfolio of flexibility—combining demand-side solutions, powerplant flexibility, and storage—is more cost-effective than relying solely on powerplant flexibility. This optimized approach can reduce total system costs by 5% under current renewable deployment rates and by 8% under a high renewable energy scenario.
• A balanced flexibility portfolio significantly improves environmental and operational outcomes by 2030, specifically reducing carbon emissions by 8% to 12% and curtailment by 82% to 97%.
• Flexibility requirements vary by region; states with high renewable energy penetration, such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, face greater needs. Without interstate transfers and flexibility improvements, these states could see 15%-20% of their renewable generation curtailed by 2030, compared to a national average of 6%.
• To achieve flexibility goals, India must evolve its electricity system across several dimensions, including the development of data on consumer patterns, cost-reduction in storage technology, improved transmission infrastructure, new business models for monetization, and aligned incentives.

APA

Udetanshu, Khurana, S., & Nelson, D. (2020). Developing a roadmap to a flexible, low‐carbon Indian electricity system. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CPI-India-flexibility-25-August-2020-Executive-summary-1.pdf

Chicago

Udetanshu, Saarthak Khurana, and David Nelson. Developing a roadmap to a flexible, low‐carbon Indian electricity system. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CPI-India-flexibility-25-August-2020-Executive-summary-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Udetanshu |last2=Khurana |first2=Saarthak |last3=Nelson |first3=David |title=Developing a roadmap to a flexible, low‐carbon Indian electricity system |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=February 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CPI-India-flexibility-25-August-2020-Executive-summary-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{udetanshu2020developing, author = {Udetanshu and Khurana, Saarthak and Nelson, David}, title = {{Developing a roadmap to a flexible, low‐carbon Indian electricity system}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CPI-India-flexibility-25-August-2020-Executive-summary-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }