Rajasthan renewable curtailment persists despite new transmission line; over 4 GW capacity at risk

New Delhi, Jan 11 (PTI) Renewable energy developers in Rajasthan continue to face severe power curtailment risks, with more than 4 GW of commissioned capacity seeing near-total shutdown during peak solar hours despite the recent commissioning of the 765 kV Khetri-Narela transmission line.

The issue was reviewed at a stakeholder meeting on December 15, 2025 which flagged that renewable projects operating under the Temporary General Network Access (T-GNA) mechanism are facing almost 100 per cent curtailment between 11 am and 2 pm, according to people briefed on the meeting.

Curtailments have intensified since the Khetri-Narela line was operationalised on December 12, contrary to expectations that the line would ease congestion.

Grid India informed the meeting that prior to the commissioning of the Khetri-Narela line, around 3.8 GW of renewable capacity was permitted injection during peak solar hours under T-GNA.

Following the line's commissioning, connectivity approvals for about 4.8 GW of renewable capacity have been made effective by Central Transmission Utility of India Limited (CTUIL).

However, around 4 GW of commissioned renewable capacity continues to face peak-hour restrictions, with injection allowed only during non-peak periods in a staggered manner, they said.

According to the Sustainable Projects Developers Association (SPDA), Grid India data indicates that the Khetri-Narela line has added only about 600 MW of effective transmission margin.

The association also pointed out that while connectivity has been granted for around 5.2 GW of projects, only about 4.4 GW is operational, with nearly 850 MW of connectivity revoked, suggesting that around 1.5 GW of margin should already be available in the system. The reasons for the current scale of curtailment remain unclear, SPDA said.

Grid India cited multiple technical constraints limiting renewable evacuation from Rajasthan, including voltage oscillations at renewable energy complexes, low short-circuit ratios at pooling stations, loading constraints on the Bhadla-Bikaner 400 kV corridor, and high loading on the 765 kV Bikaner-Khetri line.

Developers warned that sustained curtailment poses a material risk to project viability, debt servicing, and investor confidence, particularly for projects still within their notified connectivity start dates but forced to operate under T-GNA due to delays in associated transmission systems.

Prolonged shutdowns also limit the operation of stabilising equipment such as static VAR generators and harmonic filters, potentially affecting grid stability.

Sources said to address the situation, authorities agreed on several action points, including sharing of PMU data with affected developers to mitigate voltage oscillations, providing firm commissioning timelines for under-construction transmission projects, and expediting the upgradation of the Bhadla-Bikaner 400 kV line.

Grid India and CTUIL will also jointly examine additional transmission augmentation measures, including the use of dynamic line rating, and place these options before the next National Committee on Transmission meeting.

Separately, SPDA has sought urgent policy and operational interventions, including evaluation of a Special Protection Scheme (SPS) for Rajasthan to ease N-1 contingency constraints, interim allocation of limited evacuation capacity among stranded and upcoming projects, and dynamic reallocation of unused GNA margins to T-GNA generators.

While several transmission lines - including the second circuit of Bhadla II-Sikar II - are expected to be commissioned over the next six months, developers said there is limited visibility on the incremental evacuation capacity these projects will unlock.

Stakeholders warned that without swift corrective measures, continued curtailment in Rajasthan could slow renewable capacity additions, create stressed assets, and pose risks to India's target of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, sources added. PTI ANU ANU