Curtailing renewables to provide flexibility is an inefficient system response

Between May and December 2025, India's system operator curtailed an estimated 2.3 TWh of solar energy, resulting in approximately 2.11 million tonnes of missed CO2 emission reductions. While generators are compensated for this loss, the costs are passed to consumers, and the practice wastes the value of clean energy assets. With solar capacity reaching 135.8 GW in 2025 and growing faster than demand, the report warns that curtailment could become routine unless system flexibility—such as battery storage—is accelerated to keep pace with capacity additions.

• Between May and December 2025, the system operator NLDC triggered emergency TRAS-down and curtailed approximately 2.3 TWh of solar energy, which represents about 18% of the average monthly solar generation of 13 TWh for that period. A significant portion of this, roughly 0.9 TWh, occurred in October 2025.
• The curtailment of solar energy led to a loss of avoided CO2 emissions estimated at 2.11 million tonnes, which is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of 0.4 million Indian households.
• Compensation for curtailed energy, estimated between INR 5,750 million and INR 6,900 million (~USD 63 million – USD 76 million) based on tariffs of INR 2.5 – 3.0 per kWh, is socialised across the system and indirectly passed to consumers through electricity tariffs.
• India's installed solar capacity reached approximately 135.8 GW in 2025, with 38 GW added between January and December of that year, contributing to a milestone of 50% non-fossil fuel–based power generation capacity.
• Because solar capacity is growing faster than demand and existing flexibility from hydro and coal is limited, curtailment may become routine if flexibility improvements, such as the adoption of battery storage, are not accelerated.

APA

Ember (2026). Curtailing renewables to provide flexibility is an inefficient system response. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/curtailing-renewables-to-provide-flexibility-is-an-inefficient-system-response/

Chicago

Ember. Curtailing renewables to provide flexibility is an inefficient system response. 2026. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/curtailing-renewables-to-provide-flexibility-is-an-inefficient-system-response/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Curtailing renewables to provide flexibility is an inefficient system response |date=27 January 2026 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/curtailing-renewables-to-provide-flexibility-is-an-inefficient-system-response/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2026curtailing, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Curtailing renewables to provide flexibility is an inefficient system response}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2026}, month = jan, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/curtailing-renewables-to-provide-flexibility-is-an-inefficient-system-response/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }