Image:CREA
India registered a 39% year-on-year jump in solar generation, touching an all-time daily high of 705 million units on 30 September, according to the latest India Energy Snapshot released by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). The country’s overall power generation climbed 11% to 536 billion units in Q2 FY2026-27.
Solar stood as the fastest-growing major power source in the quarter, outpacing wind (29% YoY growth) and nuclear power (26% YoY growth). It contributed 58% of the total rise in renewable electricity output, cementing its central role in India’s clean power expansion.
By the end of August 2026, India’s cumulative installed solar capacity reached 168GW, accounting for roughly 30% of the nation’s total power capacity of 555GW. Excluding large hydroelectric assets, renewable capacity totalled 243GW, equivalent to 44% of overall installed capacity, a notable increase from 193GW recorded one year prior.
Renewables supplied 19% of India’s total electricity generation in Q2. Aggregated non-fossil power including hydro and nuclear hit a quarterly record of 177 billion units, rising from 163 billion units in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.
Despite robust capacity additions, grid bottlenecks and operational limitations restrained renewable power utilisation. Between July and August, around 1,835 million units of renewable power were curtailed, comprising 1,462 million units of solar power and 373 million units of wind power. The quarterly solar capacity factor edged down 0.3 percentage points year over year to 18.3%.
India’s national peak power demand hit 270GW on 16 July, an 18% increase versus the Q2 figure of FY2025-26. During the quarter’s 92 days, daily peak demand coincided with solar production hours on 62 days. In Q2 FY2026-27, India added 7GW of renewable capacity, compared with merely 0.8GW of new thermal power capacity.
Separate research from JMK Research & Analytics, published in August 2026 in its India Renewable Energy Q2 2026 Update, shows renewables made up 26.35% of India’s total power generation of 523.06 billion units, up from 22% in Q1 2026. Still, variable renewable energy curtailment rocketed 558.5% quarter-on-quarter to 1,874.09 million units, with solar accounting for 1,601.51 million units. The share of curtailed renewable generation rose from 0.28% to 1.36%, marking the highest quarterly curtailment level tracked in the report’s history.
Analysts note that India’s solar and renewable buildout maintains strong momentum, yet grid infrastructure upgrades and curtailment mitigation remain critical priorities to unlock the full potential of its fast-expanding clean energy fleet.
