India, Sept. 29 -- India's renewable buildout is one of the clearest energy transition successes - solar alone has gone from 2.8GW in 2014 to over 160GW. So why is India seeking to "switch off the sun"?

Curtailment occurs when a plant is instructed to cut output because the network cannot accept the power. Growing renewables curtailment is not unique to India, and not unambiguously bad; it can even be economical during brief periods of excess supply or congestion. But persistent curtailment results in foregone developer revenue and can weaken investment. Between April and June 2026, India curtailed 8,133 GW-hours of solar, over 10% of its potential output for that quarter.

Around 21GW of renewable capacity is connected through temporary...