Context
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently informed Parliament about significant solar power curtailment during the April-June quarter. This highlights a growing operational and infrastructural challenge in India’s clean energy transition.
What is Power Curtailment?
- Curtailment refers to the process where power-grid operators intentionally limit the electricity output from generating sources.
- The primary objective of this restriction is to maintain overall grid stability when power generation exceeds transmission capacity or grid demand.
Why was the power curtailed?
- Solar plants get built much faster than the power lines needed to carry their electricity, so solar-rich areas are now generating more power than the grid can actually transport to where it’s needed.
- Since grids need constant supply-demand balance, midday solar surges into a bottlenecked grid – without enough storage or demand – can destabilize voltage and frequency or cause blackouts, so operators curtail generation to keep it secure.
Monthly Curtailment Loss:
- April: 2,417 GWh
- May: 3,235 GWh
- June: 2,481 GWh.
Minister of State of New and renewable Energy provided a comprehensive update pairing the challenges of grid curtailment with the milestones achieved in total capacity and the PM Surya Ghar scheme.
- National Solar Capacity (as of June 30): India’s total installed solar capacity stands at 162.15 GW, which includes 125.6 GW from utility-scale projects, 30.11 GW from rooftop solar, and 6.43 GW from off-grid setups.
- PM Surya Ghar Growth: The rooftop solar scheme has crossed 75 lakh applications, with over 39.7 lakh systems already installed.
About PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana
Significant progress has been reported under the PM Surya Ghar scheme:
- The scheme has been under implementation since February 2024.
- Over 75 lakh applications were received as of July 22.
- More than 39.7 lakh Rooftop Solar (RTS) systems have been successfully installed.
- The cumulative installed capacity achieved under the scheme is 14,180.90 MW.
- Financial Assistance: As of June 27, ₹27,343.9 crore in Central Financial Assistance (CFA) has been released, effectively reaching over 48 lakh households.
| Important CTC from this article for UPSC India’s Installed solar power Capacity PM Surya Ghar Scheme |
Q. With reference to India’s solar power sector, consider the following statements:
I. India curtailed 8,133 GWh of solar power during the April-June quarter this year to maintain grid security.
II. As on June 30, India’s installed solar power capacity stood at 162.15 GW, including 30.11 GW of rooftop projects.
III. Under the PM Surya Ghar scheme, more than 48 lakh households have received Central Financial Assistance.
IV. Solar power curtailment occurred uniformly across April, May, and June this year.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) I, II and III only
(b) II, III and IV only
(c) I, III and IV only
(d) I, II, III and IV
Answer: (a) I, II and III only
Explanation:
• Statement I is Correct: Operational solar curtailment during the April-June quarter totalled 8,133 GWh.
• Statement II is Correct: Installed solar capacity stood at 162.15 GW as on June 30, including 30.11 GW rooftop.
• Statement III is Correct: Over 48 lakh households have received Central Financial Assistance under PM Surya Ghar.
• Statement IV is Incorrect: Curtailment varied month-wise - 2,417 GWh (April), 3,235 GWh (May), and 2,481 GWh (June) - not uniformly distributed.