Indian renewables firms urge pause on auctions as backlogs surge

SOUTH GOA: India's renewable energy producers are urging ‍the government to pause new project ​auctions until stranded projects secure buyers, and warning of deeper, ⁠forced output cuts at existing sites if grid problems persist, an industry presentation reviewed by Reuters shows.

More than 42 gigawatts of auctioned capacity have yet to be awarded power supply contracts, three ‌major industry groups ‌said in a rare joint presentation to the federal power and renewable ministries.

They also said grids in top ‌renewable-producing states Gujarat and Rajasthan are rejecting some green power from operational projects - a practice known as curtailment.


"In view of delays in upcoming transmission lines in key renewable energy hubs, there is a possibility that curtailment may further increase," the Wind Independent Power ​Producers Association (WIPPA), National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) and ​the Sustainable Projects Developers Association (SPDA) said.

Senior government officials at the meeting said bidding ‌could not ‍be halted abruptly, but agreed to speed efforts to curb ‍curtailments by resolving technical constraints, according to one of the ‌attendees.

The attendee declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to media. The federal power and renewable energy ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The power ministry has previously said it aims to accelerate the signing of supply deals by fast-tracking interstate transmission lines, while the renewable energy ministry has partly blamed curtailments on slowing power demand growth.

Avaada Energy ‍has yet to find buyers for 9.5 GW of capacity it was awarded at auctions. ReNew Power is seeking buyers for 5 GW ‍and the ⁠JSW Group for 2.7 ⁠GW, the presentation showed. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The industry groups also called for the appointment of dedicated renewable-energy experts to key regulatory bodies, adding that overlapping technical standards from multiple agencies created confusion.

"Various bodies across the ecosystem continue to be dominated by conventional power system expertise," they said.

They also flagged repeated delays in transmission infrastructure, citing one project that received five deadline extensions on requests for monthly progress reviews.